Harry Potter, Phoenix Black & the PoAzkaban
by Sirya Ebony Black
Summary: Sirius's girlfriend was pregnant when he was sent to Azkaban. 12 yrs later Phoenix Black is able to enter Hogwarts, too bad her dad just escaped to complicated her life and that of the Boy-Who-Should-Have-Been-Raised-As-A-Marauder with her.
1. Prologue

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © and tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

"I'm not sure how to tell him Lily!" The young woman cried to her best friend. "I mean can you honestly see Sirius Black as a father?" She asked her, completely distraught.

Lily couldn't help but give her best female friend of eleven years a laugh. "You have seen the man with Harry haven't you?" The two women looked over to where young Harry was playing with his stuffed animals. James had insisted he have one animal for each of the four marauders, and a tiger to represent Lily herself. Currently he had 'Moony' in his mouth and was chewing on its front leg while he had 'Prongs' in his other fist flying through the air.

Althea Sutherland's face softened as she thought of her long-time boyfriend, Sirius Black's face when he played with his beloved godson. "I know he loves Harry with his whole heart Lily, but this is different." She said as she bit into her lip softly.

Lily placed her hand on her shoulder. "I am sure Sirius will love you and the child just as much." She told her reassuringly.

Althea blushed. "I just can't believe it." She said shaking her head. "A week pregnant."

Lily chuckled. "I told you how long it takes for muggle testing."

"Oh don't remind me!" She laughed with her. "I can't imagine how poor muggle women can stand not knowing for nearly a month and a half after an accident."

"Well it could be worse." Lily said softly. "You could be pregnant with a boy!"

The two looked at each other for a second before they both laughed until their sides hurt. Althea was very thankful she was pregnant with a girl. Lily's pregnancy had been full of bouts of wild magic as Harry's magical core was developing in the womb, beginning at five months. As with most male children the bouts of wild magic had increased with frequency until his birth. With a daughter, the magic tended to merge and settle within the mother's control by the seventh month. Even squib children had bouts of wild magic.

"Believe me I am very happy to be having a girl." She said as she again looked towards the fourteen month old boy who was now having 'Prongs' chase 'Padfoot' around on the floor in front of him. "I am still just apprehensive about telling Sirius."

"I wish I could be of help." Lily said softly.

Althea smiled sadly. "I wish you weren't going to be hidden from your friends too." She admitted. Lily and James were scheduled to go into hiding tonight and it would be until at least Christmas before Sirius would be allowed to tell every their closest friends where they would be hiding. The spy game was getting desperately dangerous. It was obvious it was someone extremely close to both the Potter's and the Longbottom's. That meant it was likely a marauder, or one of the few friends Lily and Alice shared. As much as she loved Lily, Althea was not stupid; she knew that she was a suspect, as were most of her friends. "But I do understand why James and Siri are going along with Dumbledore's suggestion."

Lily looked at her with a miserable expression of guilt and remorse. "Althea, I don't believe it's you."

Althea smiled and hugged her gently. "And I know you have to protect your family and especially your son Lily." She couldn't help but rub her belly softly. "I think I am about to understand it better than ever."

Lily smiled gratefully at her. "I guess since we are confessing to intimate secrets I should tell you that your daughter is going to have a playmate at Hogwarts in about twelve years." Lily said with a widening smile.

Althea looked at her in wonder. "A girl or a boy?"

Lily laughed. "A girl this time." She laughed.

Over the next two hours the women bonded over the topic of their children. When James, Sirius and Peter arrived Althea said a tearful good-bye to her friend. "I'll miss you Lily." She said with tears.

Lily hugged her and whispered. "Take a picture when you tell him. I really want to see his face."

Althea bit her lip and blushed. "I promise. Next time we get together I promise I'll show it to you."

A week later Lily, James, Peter and the unborn Potter child was dead. Her beloved Sirius was in Azkaban for a crime she was sure was impossible. There was no way that Sirius could betray James, Lily or Harry never mind all three of them. She had looked to see if any of her old friends would help her but the Longbottom's were still being careful and not willing to see her and Remus had disappeared without saying goodbye to anyone. Her world felt as if it had fallen apart, but she knew if she wanted to protect her child she was going to have to go somewhere that would not condemn the child for Sirius's crimes. So by November fifteenth Althea had packed her house up and disappeared from England, moving to Canada where she could keep an eye on the news coming from Britain but still be removed from it.

The year that Harry started Hogwarts had Althea worried about her own daughter's education. While her daughter was obviously magical, the idea that she might not be eligible to attend Salam worried her. Althea had never officially changed her citizenship to North America and a quick note to the famous Salam Witch Academy confirmed her fear. Her daughter was not on the rolls of future students at Salam, she was however eligible to be home schooled or sent to Hogwarts.

It was a hard choice to make but Althea allowed her daughter to choose. Still she made sure to teach her daughter as much as she could about the pureblood customs; that while unimportant in Canada, would be very important in her future when she returned to England. She also prepared her to be able to protect herself from the other students when her name was announced. Hopefully most of the students would not remember Sirius.

Had she known that Sirius was dreaming of escaping from Azkaban at the very same moment that she released her daughter's owl with her acceptance letter she would never have allowed her daughter Phoenix Chara Black to step foot on British soil. July 31st would be her daughter's birthday and the day that would change their lives forever.


	2. PoA Chapter 1

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © and tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

**Chapter 1 – A new beginning**

The cab ride from Heathrow Airport to the Leaky Cauldron was longer than the young girl had expected. It could have been because of her excitement at finally getting her school supplies and textbooks. It could have been because it was a new place. Cities were nothing new but London was HUGE compared to Toronto. Not to mention most of the time she lived in a little magical town near Pembroke Ontario called Wolf Haven.

The area was warded off and only a select few could enter the enclosed community. Her mother was a progressive potion mistress in Algonquin Provincial Werewolf Preserve. Living in a town with nearly half of the inhabitance being 'dark creatures' had given little Phoenix a unique outlook on the British Ministry's laws. Compared to Canada, Britain was positively medieval in its thinking! But the young girl was looking forward to seeing her mother's home.

Her bright gray eyes sparkled with mischief as her ebony black hair swung with each excited movement. Her mother had gotten more and more uncomfortable as they got closer to the little pub. Phoenix wasn't as oblivious as her mother had hoped. She knew that because of her father's crimes that her life would not be all that easy at Hogwarts, but if her mother was to be believed she wasn't the only second generation marauder that would be having difficulties. Harry Potter was her distant cousin through her father's great-grandmother.

Her mother was sure that if given enough time she would be able to make friends but her mother was also worried about the associations her last name would make. For example her father had never been disowned by the Black family, but as he was currently in Azkaban prison she could legally gain control of the Black and possibly the Lestrange vaults. It was one of many things that the lawyers her mother had hired were looking into. It didn't matter much to Phoenix since her mother had more than enough money from her own pureblood family fortune and her fees for working at making the Wolfsbane potion for Wolf Haven to pay for anything they could possible want or need.

What had surprised her mother most about the whole acceptance into Hogwarts was the complete lack of curiosity about her daughter. Althea had expected there to be at the very least an international floo call regarding the name of Black on the rolls at Hogwarts. Phoenix didn't really understand her mother's paranoia about the whole thing. Since no one, not even her dad, had known she was pregnant, no one was going to think that Phoenix was the daughter of Sirius Black unless they could remember what he'd looked like after some prank played by the other marauders that changed him into a girl.

Her mother had shown her the picture of her dad as a girl with pigtails after a duel with James Potter; it had been like looking at a picture of her, had she ever had the unfortunate urge to put her hair in such an immature hairstyle. Phoenix shivered at the thought.

All these thoughts had kept her busy until the car stopped outside the record store beside the pub where they were going to stay for the next little while. She hopped out and grabbed her backpack from the cabbie as she looked around excitedly. The pub was small and hard to see if you looked away for even a second but she saw the door and walked over to it and waited for her mother.

"All set honey?" Her mother asked nervously. Phoenix nodded and opened the door. "Phoenix wait!" Her mother cried as they stepped into the busy dining area. People stopped and stared at them. The obvious muggle clothes they were wearing caught the bartender's eye and he quickly came over.

"Hi there are you lost?" He asked quickly trying to block their view of some of his patrons.

"No Tom." Her mother said softly. "We are actually looking to get two rooms for a few weeks."

Tom looked at her carefully. "Sorry madam but you have me at a disadvantage, Mrs.…" Looking at young Phoenix.

"Miss Sutherland actually Tom."

Tom's eyes clouded for a moment and then cleared as the pureblood name was easily recognized even if he did not know who she was herself. "Of course, of course." He said as he stopped getting in their way and led them over to the register. Phoenix wasn't paying any attention as her mother set them up for the foreseeable future. It was still early and she was hoping to get a chance to see the alley.

"Phoenix put on your robes now dear." Her mother requested.

She quickly moved to do as her mother asked and pulled out her summer silk, powder blue light robe and pulled it over her muggle clothes and fastened it up. The built in cooling charms activated and Phoenix felt as if she had stepped into an air conditioned room.

"Mum can I please go see the alley now?" She begged.

Her mother looked exasperated but Tom chuckled. "It is completely safe in the alley right now what with all the extra aurors there and the extra patrols, just be careful come dark."

"Oh why is that?" Her mother asked concerned.

"Sirius Black madam." Tom said warily. "He escaped just yesterday."

Phoenix looked at her mother in shock. Fear made her shake from her toes and up, but her reaction was nothing compared to the reaction of her mother who lost all color in her face and began to stumble.

"Siri escaped?" She breathed, her eyes fluttering as if she was about to pass out.

Tom moved quickly but not as fast as the man beside them at the bar. They quickly caught her before she fell and sat her down on a chair. "Damn it Tom. You can't go scaring poor young women like that!" The man yelled. Phoenix quickly backed away from the scene in front of her and kept backing up until her back hit the wall and she slid down and made herself as small as possible. The last thing she wanted was to be the center of attention as the subject of her father was being discussed.

"Sorry about that Kingsley." Tom said as he helped by getting Althea Sutherland a glass of water. "Didn't mean any harm there miss." He said contrite. "I was actually trying to be reassuring."

"I am alright." Althea said softly. "Thank you for the warning Tom." She said with as much dignity as she could muster. "And thank you as well for your kind rescue Mr. Kingsley."

The black man just smiled at her and nodded. "No harm done then Miss Sutherland?" He asked concerned.

"Sutherland?" Came a call from beside him by a young looking girl with pink hair. "Althea Sutherland?" Came the suspicious voice.

"Yes." Althea answered carefully. "You are?"

Kingsley gave the girl a quelling look. "This is Nymphadora Tonks; she's been assigned to me for the next week as we patrol the Alley."

"Kingsley, I remember her. She used to date Black." Tonks hissed to him as her hair changed to red matching her mood.

Althea looked alarmed. "Oh Merlin, you're little Nym!" She said, completely surprised by the venom in the young girl's tone. "I used to babysit you when you were about nine or ten!"

Phoenix watched with growing alarm as the two Aurors looked at her mother and blocked her view. She decided to slip out the back when she saw the wall open. She knew it was best to distance herself from inquiries about her father. She'd had to do so in the past to avoid complications, but they were rare. She kept looking back until she saw the wall close before she turned and looked at the Alley with a wide open stare.

Walking around in complete awe helped her forget what it was she was running from when she left the Leaky Cauldron. She wandered in and out of the stores, spending quite a few moments looking at the Firebolt on display in the window at the Quidditch store with all the other children who had stopped to stare too. She spent some time looking at all the books in the bookshop trying to decide on what additional books she wanted to pick up. With the Deputy Headmistress being an animagus her mother had agreed to teach her some starting theory on it but had made Phoenix promise that she would not complete the process alone. There were two books on the theory that looked promising but she was still debating on them or getting a few books on Hogwarts itself.

Of course she was now unsure if she was going to be allowed to attend the school. It was one thing when she was sure no one would remember her father, after all he had graduated in 1978 along with the people he had supposedly betrayed. But now, his name was on everyone's lips and as she walked out of the store she noticed the wanted poster that the aurors were placing on every blank wall space in the Alley.

The poster showed a man that did not resemble the pictures in her mother's photo albums at all. The man yelling silently at the camera was waxy pale, as if he had not seen the sun in years. His body looked starved and emasculated, bones showing where ever the ripped prison robes could not cover. The worst part that brought tears to her eyes as she stared at the picture was his eyes. There was no laughter in them like in the photos she'd seen of him when he was younger. His eyes were empty of any warmth; they were stormy grey with sadness and rage. She reached out with her hand and let her tears fall as she caressed the face in the picture.

Like most wizarding pictures this one had limited interactions with someone who touched them. The Sirius in the picture looked at her with contempt but it changed to curiosity for a moment before the picture restarted and he was yelling once more. She pulled her hand back and wiped her tears from her eyes as she walked away from the people stopping to look at her.

A hand reached out and took hold of her shoulder. "Are you Phoenix?" The man asked. Phoenix quickly turned in surprise and looked up into the caring face of the black auror Kingsley who had helped her mother in the Leaky Cauldron. She carefully nodded, not trusting her voice after the interaction with her father's wanted poster and looked around for the young woman that had been with him earlier. "Ah good, you're managed to scare your mother with your disappearing act." He said softly as not to alarm her. "We'd best get you back to her, huh?"

She nodded and kept her face down as she walked beside him. "I'm sorry to have caused trouble."

"No trouble." Kingsley said cheerfully. "I am sure the news is a bit of a shock to both of you." He said making sure she could see his easy-going smile.

Phoenix nodded carefully. "I had hoped that no one would know."

"No one would know what Phoenix?" He asked carefully.

Her face was downcast so she missed his facial expression change slightly. "Well no one at Hogwarts seemed to care who I was and I was hoping no one would know but now everyone is going to." She didn't know why she was confiding in the man but he had been kind to her mum and had come looking for her even though she was sure he knew who she was.

"All that matters at Hogwarts is what you choose to do miss Sutherland." Kingsley said kindly. "Not who you are or who you know."

"Black." She corrected automatically. "My name is Phoenix Black."

Kingsley's eyes widened as he saw several people turn towards the girl at her pronouncement. He grabbed the young girl by the arm and ushered her into the pub and up the stairs as quickly as he could. Phoenix saw her mother talking with the pink hair auror from before as she entered the room.

"Mum!" She cried as she flung herself into her arms. Her mother was very happy to see her. After many 'thank goodness', and 'oh good you're alright', and a mini lecture for running off Kingsley interrupted.

"I hate to intrude but your daughter made a statement that I need to clarify." He said in his professional voice.

Nymphadora spoke up. "I'm guessing she told you her last name." Seeing Kingsley nodded, she added, "She's Black's daughter." Confirming what Kingsley was going to ask as his eyes opened wide. "And no, he has no idea she exists."

Althea asked that Phoenix be allowed to go to her own room and unpack while she explained things to the aurors. Once she got permission she left the room and when to her own adjoining one and unpacked her clothes. It was the beginning of a long summer for Phoenix Black.

Several weeks later one Harry Potter was on his way to the Leaky Cauldron after having blown up his aunt Marge. It was a very tired, worn out, confused, relieved and completely bewildered Harry that passed by Phoenix on his way to his bed the night before. Because he looked so exhausted she had just smiled at him. He'd smiled back but in an absent sort of way so she didn't introduce herself. This morning was different. He was sitting at her normal table having breakfast by himself when she entered the dining room area.

After several weeks the clientele was used to seeing Phoenix 'Sutherland' on her own. After talking to Kingsley and her cousin Tonks it was decided it was best if she just let people think she had the same last name as her mum. The last thing Althea wanted was for the 'Daily Prophet' to find out about Phoenix and make her a target while she was outside the Hogwarts wards. So far it hadn't been an issue. Her mother was planning on returning to Canada on September 1st after the Express left. As it was she was going to miss two Full Moons for this trip, but since she was in England her mother thought it best to get some things done, such as selling her house that she had closed back in 1981 and that meant doing some major work to make it muggle acceptable. There was also the fact that Walburga Black had died leaving the Black Family without a Head.

He was the only other underage witch or wizard in the room so she made her way over and sat herself down in front of him. "Hi, I'm Phoenix." She said boldly holding out her hand. As per the instructions from the aurors she withheld her last name.

"Uh, hi." He said uncertainly as he shook it. He looked the young girl over before looking around to see if anyone else had taken notice. Since no one was looking at them he relaxed a bit. Her accent was something new and he had no idea where she had come from. "I'm Harry." He finally said softly.

She smiled at him. "I know." She said and Harry nodded he'd come to expect that reaction.

"So, uh…" He search around for a topic to talk to her about.

"It's amazing how much you look like Uncle James." She said as she picked out her breakfast from the menu.

Harry froze at those words and looked up at the girl in shock. "Uncle James?" He exclaimed.

"Uh-huh." Phoenix said, her eyes glowing with mischief.

"How can you be… I mean you don't sound like you.." He started, trying not to stutter with amazement. Here was a girl claiming to be a part of his family!

Phoenix laughed guessing what he wanted to ask her about her accent. "I'm officially British by the way." she explained. "I just grew up in Canada. That's why I don't sound British."

"Oh." Harry said softly. "But how are we related?" He finally managed to ask. "I didn't think I had any other family."

Phoenix was stunned. "You mean you're a Scion of the House of Potter but you don't know your family linage?" It was a pureblood tradition to make sure every member of the family knew their linage and the family customs and alliances. The idea that Harry had no idea about the interconnections of his family had not occurred to her. All purebloods could claim one another if they truly wanted to. Most families only kept records of up to second cousins to remove the chance of incest.

"I'm a what?" He asked.

"A scion." She repeated. "The new head of house once you reach of age." Harry looked really confused and so she took pity on him. "I'm sorry. Mum made me learn all the rules about being a pureblood heir from the time I was six. It seems strange that you wouldn't have gotten the same training since mum was assured that your approved guardians would take care of you."

Harry snorted. "Aunt Petunia didn't tell me a thing. Being a muggle I doubt she knows about pureblood traditions." He told her.

"Petunia?" Phoenix asked confused. "A muggle?"

Harry nodded. "She was my mum's sister and the only blood family I had left."

Phoenix gave Harry a look that suggested he was crazy. "That's not possible Harry. Heck you and I are officially third cousins by blood and I know that there are other members of the other families that have a closer connection then that."

"I thought you called my mum your aunt." Harry said looking lost and confused now at the circles that the conversation was taking.

Phoenix had the decency to blush. "I'm sorry Harry. Mum has been telling me to call her Aunt Lily all my life. My mother is actually your Godmother and my dad your Godfather. When your parents died you were suppose to come and live with us, but when everything came down my mum lost custody because Dumbledore said Lily had asked that someone else take you if dad wasn't available to help protect you, which he wasn't." She added sadly.

Harry nodded understanding now. It was just an honorary title for someone that had been close to his parents. "So I was supposed to come and live with your mum and dad then?"

Phoenix looked a little uncomfortable at the topic so she made an effort to change it. "Do you know what a Godparent is Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, Ron Weasley explained it all once about how if something were to happen Godparents were suppose to fill in as guardians. I wonder why your mum wasn't allowed to take me then."

Phoenix shrugged. "No idea. She won't talk about it much but my parents were never married either so…" She blushed. Harry remembered that in the Wizarding world that type of thing was deeply frowned upon as evidenced by Ron's talk of scarlet women. Witches were held responsible for the 'bad behavior'. He decided to avoid asking about her dad.

Phoenix's breakfast arrived and so they ate in silence for a bit before Harry decided to ask her a few questions. "So what happens now?" Harry asked.

She just shrugged. "Well I guess that's up to you. I mean mum is going to want to meet you obviously."

Harry nodded. "Yeah I would like to meet her too. I don't know much about my parents."

That comment sound strange to Phoenix but considering how she hated not being able to ask about her dad she immediately jumped in to the topic. "Well I can tell you a little bit about them. I know more about your mum than I do your dad since mum and Aunt Lily were best friends from their first year at Hogwarts, they shared a dorm room."

Harry was more than happy to hear about his mum from the young girl and the two spent the day getting to know each other. They walked the alley and Phoenix stayed with Harry as they had some ice cream and watched the people in the Alley.

Harry learned more about his parents in this one afternoon than he had in his whole life. He listened to the young girl. The fact that his mum was a charms and potion mistress really surprised him almost as much as learning his mum and Snape had been friends before Hogwarts. In return he answered all her questions about Hogwarts and the house system. They talked about classes, what types of magic they had already learned, the teachers and what they were like. It was a new experience for him to get to know another magical person without them looking at him because of his scar. In fact Phoenix hadn't even asked about it or done more than look at it once and that was to tell him it was showing a bit so he could hide it better to avoid attention from other people.

Near dinner time the two entered the dining area of the Leaky Cauldron and waved to Tom. They were well on their way to being friends. One of the patrons, not noticing Harry's scar made a comment about how nice it was to see a well-behaved set of siblings for a change. As Harry sat down at 'their' special table and looked at his new friend he took in her similar black hair, slight build and for the first time wondered what it would be like to have a younger sibling.

Phoenix had been about to order when she saw her mother come into the room and scan it looking for her daughter. Phoenix waved to her and beckoned her over. "Mum just walked in."

"Ah here is where you got to." She said smiling at her. "And who is your fri…" She had begun, but she quickly drew in a startled breath as she looked at the spitting image of James Potter at the age of eleven with Lily's unique eyes. "Harry!" She breathed and quickly sat down. "Oh Merlin!"

Harry looked up at the woman whom he had seen several times in the pictures Hagrid had gotten him. One of the wedding pictures had a younger version of this woman in them as the maid of honor. He smiled at her, understanding her surprise. "Hi, you must be my godmother Althea." He said feeling more confident about the stories Phoenix had been telling him all day.

"Yes." She said hesitantly.

Harry began to feel a little uncomfortable under her intense stare until Phoenix nudged her. "Hey mum guess what! Harry's muggle-raised!" Phoenix gave Harry a quick wink to help him relax a bit as she teased her mum.

This comment seemed to confuse Althea as she looked back over at Harry and waited for him to nod his head with a slight blush. "Are you really?" She asked slightly bewildered. "I didn't think you're Great-Uncle Damian Potter would have moved into the Muggle World, he was always one of the worst dressed wizards I have ever seen."

It was Harry's turn to stare at Althea. "Who's Great-Uncle Damian Potter?" Harry turned to look at Phoenix who was laughing quietly.

"Think of a recluse with no fashion sense, and a brain like a leaky sieve and you'll have your dad's uncle Damian." She said with a chuckle. Harry had heard and seen enough wizards trying to pretend to be muggles that the image in his head happened to be rather funny. He joined in with her laughter.

Althea looked concerned. "He was your closest living relative when I left England. I had assumed that Dumbledore had placed you with him." She began to assess Harry's stature and body and did not like what she was seeing.

"Oh no. I was placed with Aunt Petunia." Harry said quietly, looking down at his menu as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

"HE PLACED YOU WITH THAT MAGIC HATING B..," Althea screeched drawing the attention of the entire pub towards them.

"MOTHER!" Phoenix yelled. "LANGUAGE!" She added sternly as she slapped her arm playfully.

Althea looked apocalyptic and when she turned her face towards the other patrons her glare causes the more intelligent ones to turn back to their meals. The less intelligent ones were reminded by their fellows and then they too turned back to their meals. "I can't believe that lying, manipulative bas…"

"Mother!" Phoenix replied sharply, cutting her off again from making a nasty comment.

Harry sat back watching the display with a great deal of bewilderment and slight amount of amusement. From what he had managed to gather from Phoenix's conversation earlier it had been assumed that Harry was being cared for by loving family members by the wizarding public at large. The fact that his home was not such a good one would be news to them if it ever got out. How it couldn't be known was a mystery to Harry. His letter had been addressed to _his_ cupboard.

Althea turned her eyes back to Harry. Her eyes were filled with tears as she apologized. "I am so sorry Harry. I should have realized what Dumbledore was up to, I should have at least questioned who he'd left you with."

This was not how Harry had imagined this meeting going. Instead of a dinner filled with a chance to learn even more about his family it was instead becoming uncomfortable. "It's ok, really."

Althea snorted and Phoenix also looked upset. "Is Harry's aunt the one who showed up at Aunt Lily's wedding in black with a mourning veil and treated the whole day like a funeral?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes, she was." Althea said softly as she dabbed her eyes with a cloth handkerchief she pulled from her purse.

Phoenix turned back to Harry. "Well at least you're not with them now." She said smiling.

Harry nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I get to stay here until September 1st when I have to catch the Express."

Althea looked between the two youngsters and smiled fondly at Harry. "Since you'll be here do you mind keeping an eye on Phoenix while I am busy during the day?"

Phoenix crossed her arms and glared at her mother. "I have been perfectly fine to take care of myself for the past two weeks." She said with a frosty tone.

Althea snorted. "How many times have the aurors and Mr. Kingsley had to bring you back to the Cauldron for causing mischief?"

Harry watched with amusement as Phoenix defended herself. "It wasn't my fault that ginger cat tried to knock over the toad display I was standing next to! And it wasn't my fault that those monster books ate that poor girl's new robes and got loose, I was trying to help her round one up! And it was defiantly not my fault that woman started screaming that she saw a giant grim, I was only playing shadow puppets on the wall with the other children!" She crossed her arms in a huff.

Harry couldn't help but let a snort escape. Hearing it Althea began to also laugh while poor Phoenix looked like she was about to lose her temper. "Oh fine laugh about it. See if I'm ever nice to anyone ever again." She pouted.

"Would I get hazard pay?" Harry asked innocently.

For the next two weeks the two children were inseparable. They spent quite some time doing their shopping. Harry had been worrying about how much money he had in his trust vault and so he was reluctant to spend too much money on things that caught his interest such as the mini-galaxy and a solid gold gobstones set. Phoenix had been surprised to learn Harry didn't know about his main family vault but decided that certain things were better left to adults like her mother to explain.

When it came to things they both needed to buy they both spent their money well. Phoenix taught Harry about the additional charms he could have placed on his new robes and other muggle-like everyday clothing that she insisted he HAD to have plus some dragonhide boots. She also made sure he got the better quality fabric and the other charms that would allow them to grow with him for a little while. He also got a new trunk with a few lightening spells on it so it would be easier to move when it was filled with books and his other stuff. Phoenix made sure it had a simple name plate made of brass on it.

At the apothecary Phoenix was also a god-sent. She explained to Harry about the quality of the knives and the potions supplies he needed if he really wanted to do as well as his mother had. She told him to NEVER order the 'student' set of anything because the quality was never as good, and the ingredients were often older than was recommended by the time they were used. She ordered high quality pewter cauldrons for them both along with 'proper' silver, gold, and steel cutting knives and wooden, and steel cutting surfaces (so they could practice the potions before classes, because you never try them the first time in front of a bias greasy bat). She also got them programmable stirring spoons, high quality scales (with guaranteed correct weights and measuring spoons), crystal phials (because glass sometimes absorbed and leaked certain potions), and top quality ingredients (from both the student list of ingredients and a number of additional things required for the potions in his third year and her first year books). On top of all those things she also ordered two potion carrying cases, which allowed for all the high quality equipment to be carried without fear of damage. When Harry asked how she knew all this stuff Phoenix had explained that her mother was also a potions mistress and had been tutoring her since she was six because she'd nearly blew her mum's lab up when she had gotten bored. Harry made a mental note to have Althea go over his potion essay before she left on the 1st.

When they got to the bookstore things got interesting. The clerk would not let Phoenix anywhere near the monster book display and seemed very relieved when Harry said he didn't need the book as he already had one. They spend quite some time finding all the books they needed and Phoenix picked out a few extra and talked Harry into getting a few too. She picked out three for him that Harry was not sure about but considering they were all for potions and Phoenix as a first year knew more about the subject than he did, he decided to just accept them with a mild thank you.

They talked quite a bit about the choices Harry had made for his electives. Althea and Phoenix were quite critical of Divination but supportive of his choice of Creatures. It took quite a while but Althea finally convinced Harry to write to Professor McGonagall and ask to be added to Arithmancy in addition to his other classes. He was reminded that this way he could always drop one next year if he found any of them to be unsuitable since he was required to take at least two until OWLs. Always one to cover his bases if possible Harry had agreed.

After hearing about Snape from Harry and how horrible he was as a teacher Althea took quite a bit of pleasure in teaching Harry about the theory behind the art of potion making. At first Harry had thought he was going to hate the time he spent learning during his summer, but Althea made the time enjoyable and he found himself loving the time the three spent together. Althea also made it her mission to instruct Harry on several special potions that would help him gain some of his health back from the malnutrition he had suffered under Petunia's care. It could never be all undone but magic certainly could erase a good portion of it. Harry's health blossomed and he added some weight, looking less like an underfed youth and more like an early teen. With the extra lessons and the additional books and better equipment, Snape was not going to know what hit him. She also added a few stories about how Snape had made some serious mistakes during his own learning in the first few years which helped Harry's mood when it came to one Professor Severus Snape.

With a resource like Althea, Kingsley (who seemed to be around daily) and the other store owners available to him, Harry had no trouble finding everything he needed to get his homework done. He and Phoenix enjoyed many days at the ice cream shop; reading, eating and doing homework in the sun. Seeing the two children together often brought smiles to people's faces and even made some parents feel safe enough to let their children roam a bit more freely than they had been prepared to do.

The only thing Harry found strange was when people talked of Sirius Black, Phoenix would try to fade away into the background. Harry had assumed it was because she was afraid of the escaped convict and would keep his hand on her back or grab her arm lightly and move away from the people who were gossiping about Black. As a result Harry had only seen the information on the wanted posters and the occasional headline from the 'Daily Prophet' saying there had been no sign of the escapee and that even the muggles were looking for him.

On the last day of August it was a tanned and health looking Harry that ran into Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the Leaky Cauldron. Seeing how excited Harry was to see his two friends Phoenix slipped away to read in her room. Just before dinner there was a knock on her door. Phoenix answered it and as she expected Harry was on the other side, although he did look a little sheepish.

"I'm sorry I ignored you today." He said. "Are you coming down to dinner? I want to introduce you to my friends."

"Sure." She said brightly. "I kinda figured you'd want some time to get caught up, so I slipped away on purpose."

Harry shook his head sadly. "You know you don't have to keep disappearing like that." Wishing he didn't feel like she had felt like she was unwanted. He hated that feeling himself and he didn't like that he'd made her feel that way, even unintentionally.

She shrugged. "I wanted to read a little further in my animagus theory book."

Harry chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Boy have I got the perfect person to introduce you to downstairs."

Phoenix rolled her eyes. Harry had of course told her all about is best friends and all the adventures he'd had at school so far, including the secret stuff the rest of the school didn't know. She had been sworn to secrecy and was glad to do so. Knowing how much he was looking forward to introducing her to his best female friend Hermione, Phoenix smiled and went downstairs while holding onto Harry's hand.

Dinner was an uncomfortable affair for Phoenix. For one Mr. Weasley seemed to be looking in her direction quite often with a frown on his face, especially after Harry introduced her as Phoenix Sutherland. The youngest Weasley, Ginny seemed to have taken an instant dislike to her when she had entered the room holding Harry's hand and sat beside him. Talk around the table was taken over by the loud twins who seemed to only enjoy teasing there older brother who would be Head Boy this year at Hogwarts. Hearing that Harry wouldn't be travelling with her to Kings Cross tomorrow was a final blow and Phoenix felt like she really shouldn't have come down to join Harry and his friends at all, even with Hermione making an effort to get along with her since Ron was all upset over her buying a cat instead of an owl as a pet. Phoenix was greatly relieved when her mother came into the room and she could excuse herself without causing a scene.

"Mum, can we eat upstairs please." She begged quietly. "It's too loud down here."

Seeing how upset her daughter was, Althea quickly ushered her up the stairs and away from the group of redheads surrounding her godson. She stopped quickly and asked Tom to bring their dinner up when he had a moment. He looked concerned down at the normally energetic child hugging tightly to her mother. "It won't be but a moment Miss Sutherland."

Hearing his godmother's name being mentioned Harry turned and saw them start to go up. He began to stand but was distracted by Mr. Weasley calling his name. He turned back to the worried looking man. "Yes sir?"

"Harry, how long have you known that girl?" He asked, drawing the attention of everyone else.

"Who is she Harry?" Ginny asked timidly. The rest of the family seemed very interested in the answer and all looked at him.

Harry was taken aback by the sudden question. "Oh I met her the first day I was here. W were both the only underage people here so we just started to hang out and stuff." He said quietly, not feeling like sharing too much with everyone staring at him.

"But Harry, I thought you said her mum was your godmother?" Ron asked with as much tact as he'd ever shown, which was none.

Harry blushed and nodded. "Well yeah, I mean Althea has told me lots of stuff about my mum and helped me a bit with my homework because I was helping to keep Phoenix out of trouble."

Mr. Weasley looked quite troubled over this news and shared a concerned glance with Mrs. Weasley. "Well with Sirius Black on the loose you must be more careful, never know if someone could use their past relationships to get close to you." Mrs. Weasley said.

Harry looked startled. "What are you talking about Mrs. Weasley? Althea is only in England because her daughter is going to Hogwarts tomorrow. In fact she is leaving in the afternoon to fly back to Canada. Besides Aurors Kingsley and Tonks have been by and chatting with her in a friendly manner, if she was some type of suspect don't you think they'd have said something to me?"

"Kingsley you say?" Mr. Weasley said thoughtfully. "He's in charge of the investigation." He mumbled thoughtfully.

"What investigation dad?" Percy asked. The rest of the Weasley clan joined in asking what their dad was talking about.

Mr. Weasley seemed to be pulled from his thoughts. "Oh nothing he's just watching the Alley for trouble is all."

The rest of dinner was an uncomfortable affair for Harry and he couldn't wait to pull away from the Weasleys, which was a first for him. As he got up to leave Mr. Weasley asked to speak to him privately. "Harry I don't mean to pry into your life, but I need to ask you for two favors."

Harry was concerned but nodded his head. "If I can."

Mr. Weasley sighed and motioned Harry to sit down. "You have to understand, I care about you a great deal and I am only asking out of concern."

"Alright, I'm listening Mr. Weasley." Harry said with respect.

"I need you to be careful when you are around strangers this year Harry. You can never be sure who is out to harm you are not." Mr. Weasley said as he stared into Harry's eyes.

Harry nodded his head. "I understand sir."

"Good, good." Mr. Weasley said before taking a deep breath. "Now I need you to promise me you will not try to go after Black yourself."

"Why would I want to go after him sir?" Harry asked.

Mr. Weasley looked surprised. "I would have thought with you speaking to Althea Sutherland that you know all about Black."

Harry shook his head. "Not at all sir." He explained. "Phoenix shrinks away every time the subject of Black comes up so I have been reluctant to mention it in front of her and Althea." He looked at the ever increasing concern on Mr. Weasley's face. "Should I ask her about him? And why?"

Mr. Weasley quickly shook his head. "No, no, no, I was just surprised since she knew Black so well when they were younger. I would have thought she'd have warned you he might come after you."

"ME!" Harry cried. "WHY? Why would he want to come after me?"

Mr. Weasley's face fell. "He was a Death Eater my boy." He explained. "No one knew until it was too late to stop him."

Harry closed his eyes. "He is coming for revenge?"

"That's what most believe. Personally I just think the man is as mad as a hatter." Mr. Weasley told him. "Now I have already told you too much. Please promise me you won't go looking for Black."

"I am not suicidal Mr. Weasley." Harry said softly. "I am not going to go out looking for someone who is going to try and kill me."

Mr. Weasley seemed to accept that as a promise and suggested Harry get upstairs and finish his packing. Harry left and quietly knocked on Althea's door. When she opened it she opened the door wide enough to let him in.

"Phoenix is a little frightened about tomorrow. She doesn't think you want to be her friend anymore." She said with a quiet voice so it wouldn't carry beyond Harry's hearing.

Harry nodded. "I'll talk to her, but after she's in bed I have a few questions I need answered." Althea looked into Harry's concerned eyes and nodded. She knew she'd put this conversation off for too long as it was. She hoped he would be forgiving.

It hadn't taken Harry long to convince Phoenix that he'd never abandon her. "Like it or not you are my god-sister." He'd told her, causing her to stick out her tongue at him, but she'd also hugged him as if she was afraid to let him go. Harry had never felt comfortable with hugging people, but this one wasn't just a need for touch but a desperate need for comfort. He'd often wished someone would come for him and do this when he was a child. Harry felt a warmth he'd never felt before in knowing that he was providing that comfort for her.

Once she was in bed Harry and Althea sat at the table in her room to talk. "I'm not sure where to start Harry." She told him. "There is much you should know, but at the same time I don't want to be the one to tell you."

Harry's curiosity was stronger than any concern he had over what the news could be. "I already know Black was a Death Eater." He said, hoping to make things easier.

Althea shook her head. "Believe me Harry, Black was many things; reckless, ruthless, impulsive and dangerous when cornered, but he was no Death Eater."

Harry took everything she said and weighted it against what he'd heard so far. "But if that's true then why does the ministry think he is?"

Althea shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm not saying that he's innocent of murder." She told him honestly. "They did find him at the scene of the murders laughing but until the night before when he left me, he'd never been marked as a Death Eater."

"Could he have been marked that night and been on his first…?" Harry asked.

"An Initiation?" She asked, when Harry nodded she turned away. "No Harry, if he did all they accuse him of then he'd not have needed to go on any initiation." She stared down at her hands. "The problem I have always had with all this is that I can't believe he do the things they accused him of." She explained desperate for someone to believe her. "The Sirius I grew up knowing hated everything Voldemort stood for! He hated his own family because they believed in the pureblood elitism, he even ran away from home at sixteen so he could get away from them! Does that sound like a Death Eater to you?"

Harry shook his head. "No it doesn't."

"The Sirius I knew would have died for his friends, not killed two of them in less than 24 hours." She told him as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Harry stared at her in shock. "He killed his best friends?"

Althea nodded sadly, turning away from Harry. "I'm sorry Harry, but I can't do this." She said between choking tears.

Harry walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "They were your friends too weren't they."

Crying so hard she couldn't answer Harry accepted it and stopped asking questions. Instead he stayed for a few minutes while she held his hand on her shoulder. He had a lot to think about now. Sirius Black had killed 13 people and laughed about it. But if what Althea had said was true he was no Death Eater, but why would someone kill their best friends. Looking at the Wanted Poster in the hallway Harry wondered if maybe the man had been mad before going to Azkaban.

When he got to his room Harry wasn't surprised to hear what the Twins and Ron had overheard their parents discussing. The news that Sirius was looking for him was concerning and the Guards of Azkaban being around Hogwarts was new. But if Kingsley was in charge of the investigation regarding Sirius Black, and it was such a high priority, why was the man spending so much time in the alley watching over Phoenix Sutherland? Harry had no doubt that it was her he was watching and not himself because Phoenix had mentioned the man being around every day for the two weeks before Harry ran away. Harry kept the information Althea had given him to himself for now. There was no need to start a large debate with Ron. He'd wait until the train tomorrow and ask the others what they thought when they were all together.

* * *

A/N : ok so what do you think? I hate stories that quote too much out a canon so I am trying to avoid that. Let me know if this is any good or not, it's something a bit new for me.


	3. PoA Chapter 2

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © and tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 2 - Getting to Hogwarts

It was only the promise that she'd meet up with Harry at the express that allowed Althea to get her daughter out the door in the morning. She had already heard from Harry that the Weasleys almost always arrived at 10:50 am every September 1st. Althea was hoping to not be on the platform when most of the parents arrived. Too many of them had been around when she went to school. Her daughter was prepared for what would happen and at least Althea was sure Harry would help to look after Phoenix.

Now at 10 am she was saying goodbye to her daughter. "Are you sure you want to go?" She asked her one last time. "I can still take you home right now."

Phoenix bravely gave her mother a smile. "I have to face the world sometime mum."

Althea grabbed her in a tight hug. "I wish I could have given you my name baby girl." She whispered as she kissed the top of her head. "I wish I could take away all this pain."

Phoenix's eyes filled with tears. "I know mum, but magic always names a child after the father. And it's illegal to have different magic and muggle names in Canada." She held on tightly for another minutes until they both had better control of their emotions. "I'll be alright mum. It's no different from what some others had to go through. I mean Harry did all this on his own with no idea about his past." She reminded her mum. "He turned out ok."

Althea smiled for her daughter. "And at least you'll have him." She turned to help her daughter get on the train when an older gentleman walked over towards them. As the man got closer Althea gasped. "Remus?"

At the sound of the name both Phoenix and Remus Lupin looked at Althea in surprise. Phoenix of course had heard all about 'Uncle Moony', more about him than any of the other Marauders because of his condition. In fact he was one of the reasons that her mother had taken the job at Wolf Haven and was now considered to be one of the best Wolfsbane brewers in the world. Her mother had always been fascinated by his condition. She also was aware that Sirius at the end had cast suspicion on Remus as the spy because the werewolves had been on the move at the end of the last war. Greyback, one of the worst werewolves in existence had been particularly vicious. By moving and working in Wolf Haven her mother had a chance to make up for the pain Sirius had caused and she got to work with something she found challenging. Phoenix was quick to slip behind her mother because if there was one person on this earth who would know by sight that she was Sirius Black's daughter it would be Remus Lupin.

"Althea Sutherland?" He asked uncertainly.

"It's been a long time Remus." She said softly, not looking up at the man's face.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, yes it has." The two stared at each other for several seconds. "What are you doing back in England, last I heard you'd left for good."

Althea looked down and pressed her hand into Phoenix's back, pushing her out so that Remus could see her. "My daughter, she's attending Hogwarts this year for the first time." She said softly. "Say hello to Mr. Lupin Phoenix."

Phoenix lifted her eyes carefully. "Hello Mr. Lupin." She said shyly.

Her soft grey eyes were filled with fear. Her body moved with the same natural gracefulness that Sirius used to have. Everything about the girl in front of him screamed Sirius to Remus, except she was a small, 11 year old female child. He held out his hand to the child to shake her hand, trying not to let it tremble. "Hello Phoenix." Close enough now to smell her, even her scent had trace amounts of Sirius to it.

Althea sighed. "Her last name is…"

"Black." He finished for her in a flat tone. "How can she not be. She looks and moves like him." Phoenix backed away and held on to her mother's hand for dear life. Looking up at Althea he gave her a hard look. "Why come back now when he's escaped?"

Althea snorted. "You're a fine one to talk about coming back. Why are you suddenly around once more?"

Remus ran a hand through his graying hair. "Dumbledore asked me to come teach this year." He admitted to her.

"And so you came running to do the old man's bidding." She snorted. "Good little wolf." She snarled, her bitterness at his disappearance when she could have used his support after the deaths of their friends coming out.

"Mother!" Phoenix gasped. It was an unbreakable rule in Wolf Haven not to _out_ a werewolf to the masses outside of the protected town. The masses never seemed to take it well, even if they knew the truth about werewolves. Looking around she realized that there was no one else close by.

Althea looked sharply at her daughter. She sighed at the appealed look on her daughter's face. "I am sorry Lupin, but Dumbledore is not one of my favorite people lately." She admitted while looking away.

Remus looked back and forth between the young girl and his old friend. "I think I can guess why." He said carefully.

Althea shook her head and gave him a cheerless chuckle. "I don't think you do." Looking down at Phoenix she smiled. "If I hadn't found out recently that the Hogwarts letters go out automatically, without verification by an actual staff member, I would have assumed Dumbledore did not care about my daughter's enrollment." She placed her hand on Phoenix's head. "But now that I know for a fact that they are sent without anyone going through them, I am not so sure anyone has a clue that my daughter and Sirius are related. At least not yet." She said as she looked up at Lupin. "She is a British Black from Canada, and since they are unaware I was ever pregnant…"

Lupin looked down at the young girl. "Mr. Lupin sir." Phoenix started off. "I promise I won't say anything about your sickness to anyone." She whispered.

Remus looked sharply at Althea. "She's knows?"

Althea rolled her eyes. "We live in Wolf Haven, Ontario Remus. And she has always known. I never hid any of the facts about the members of the Marauders from her."

Remus swallowed sharply. "Thank you very much for your promise Ms. Black." He said. "One of the reasons I can teach at Hogwarts is because no one knows about my… illness."

She nodded shyly again. "Mum, can I get on the train now?" Phoenix asked softly, wanting to get away from the man who obviously didn't like her too much, as much as she wished to get to know him.

"Sorry Remus I am just going to say goodbye." She said. The two agreed to keep in touch and Remus moved to take his trunk and offered to take Phoenix's to the baggage car while Phoenix and her mother said their final goodbyes. Phoenix had the items she'd need on the train in her backpack so she thanked Remus and let him take her trunk. With a heavy heart Phoenix watched as her mother walked away and with a final look and wave passed back through the barrier to the muggle platform above.

The Weasleys were running late as usual. Harry was beginning to think they were going to end up having to take the ministry cars to Hogwarts instead of the train! As much as he loved the Weasleys and Hermione, all the yelling was beginning to wear Harry out and the train hadn't even left yet! He'd not slept well the night before thinking in circles about the mystery that was Sirius Black and his crusade to kill his best friends and one young teenager, namely himself.

They were late enough that the train was blowing the warning whistle as they entered the platform. All the children meant to be on the train ran towards it and were barely on when the train began to pull away from the station. Not wanting to waste any more time Harry began to look into every compartment trying to find his god-sister. He found her standing in a compartment looking at an older man who seemed to be sleeping.

"Phoenix?" Harry called out to her softly.

Startled Phoenix turned and had her wand drawn. "Oh Harry." She smiled as she placed her wand back into the holster on her forearm. "You found me." Harry chuckled and gave her a hug.

"Of course we did." Harry said, gesturing to his friends Ron and Hermione who were followed by Ginny. "Let's get settled in shall we."

Ron looked over at the man sleeping. "Hey who's that? He's a little old to be a student."

"Professor Lupin." Phoenix said at the same time at Hermione said, "Professor R J Lupin."

Everyone looked at the two of them. "How did they know that?" Ron asked Harry, clearly surprised and annoyed that they knew.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's on his briefcase Ronald." She said as she pointed up at his briefcase above his head. The two were still a little short with each other over Hermione's choice of pet.

Phoenix giggled. "He's an old friend of my mum's." She was clearly amused by Harry's exasperation over his friend's fighting.

Ron seemed satisfied with that. "Well that's ok then Midget. Why don't you go find some friends to play with." He said and turning to his own sister and rudely said, "Get out."

Ginny started to argue with Ron about being a bloody prat while Phoenix turned her eyes to Harry to see if he wanted her to leave. Harry had a pained but thoughtful look on his face. He didn't want to come between Phoenix and her chance to make some friends of her own, and he REALLY wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione about Sirius Black, a subject that obviously frightened his little god-sister. But at the same time he felt like he should be making it easier for her on her first trip away from home and away from her mother who Harry knew was suppose to be leaving the country right now.

"Ron," Harry said. "They can both stay." He said making his decision. He could feel Ron's indignation rising but it failed to make a dent in the warm feeling Harry got from seeing Phoenix's face flood with relief. He'd made a promise last night not to abandon her so he wouldn't. Ron would have to take it or lump it.

"Well fine then, but how are we supposed to talk about you-know-who with them in here." Ron snorted crossly.

"Why, what's up with Voldemort?" Phoenix asked with wide eyes as Ron and Ginny winced at her use of the name. "You don't think he's going to attack the school again this year do you?" She asked Harry with wide eyes.

Ginny also looked frighten. "Merlin I hope not. Last year was bad enough! And I still need to catch up with everything I missed!"

Hermione glared at Ron. "No, the dumb prat was talking about Black, not Voldemort. Honestly Ron are you trying to be insensitive or does it just come naturally to you?" Harry quickly glanced at Phoenix when Hermione mentioned Black but instead of trying to fade into the background she was biting her lip and looking out the corner of her eye at the sleeping Professor.

Harry placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to be ok if we talk about him?" He asked her quietly, drawing the attention of everyone.

Phoenix smiled up at Harry. "Yeah, talking about Black doesn't bother me. It's just everyone else's reactions that worry me."

"Because of what your mum believes about him?" Harry questioned further, concern ringing in his voice.

Phoenix shrugged trying to be brave, knowing how much worse things were going to get this evening. "Mum is entitled to her opinions same as everyone else is. Hers are just more thought out but she never really bought into the whole ministry line about his motives."

"What do you mean about the ministry and his motives?" Hermione asked before Ron got a chance.

"Her mum knew Black when they went to Hogwarts together." Harry explained to his friends as they all sat down and leaned together to discuss the topic. "She told me a little about it last night. Basically, she doesn't think Black is a Death Eater."

"But she still thinks he's a killer right?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"Not really, but the proof is pretty hard to fight which was why they never even bothered with a trial." Phoenix said softly.

"What are you talking about?" Ron demanded. "He's been in Azkaban for years! The ministry doesn't just throw people in a cell and forget to hold trials."

Phoenix bit her lip and refused to say anymore so Ron turned back to Harry, waiting for him to explain. "I didn't know about the trial thing, but from what Althea said Black doesn't sound like Death Eater material to me. He was against all the stuff Malfoy and his cronies are always spewing. He even ran away from home to get away from it all." Harry told them.

"But he's still a nutter and he's planning on coming after you right?" Ron asked.

"Well from what you guys overheard it sounds like it since he was saying "he's at Hogwarts" in his sleep. So yeah that would be my guess." Harry said, looking at Phoenix thoughtfully. He didn't want to bring up the fact that Kingsley seemed a little too interested in his sister while she was sitting right there. He decided to talk to Hermione and Ron about that away from her a little later on. The group spent some time throwing around ideas about why Black would kill his best friends for no reason.

"Well that begs the question of who his best friends were." Ginny pointed out to them. "Does anyone know who it was he went to prison for killing?"

"Uncle Peter," Phoenix whispered, "And twelve muggles that were surrounding him at the time."

Harry looked down surprised that this was the first time she'd volunteered that bit of information. "He was a friend of our parents." He gave her a small hug that she seemed to melt into. He hadn't known who the friends were but Phoenix obviously did. He didn't want to push her right now and let her fade off to an emotionally exhausted sleep on his shoulder. As luck would have it Hermione's new pet was demanding to be let out and the resulting fight between Ron and Hermione allowed Harry to let the topic drop. Phoenix didn't sleep for very long and Harry made sure to save a few chocolate frogs and a cauldron cake for her when the trolley witch came by.

Ginny watched the interactions between the two and relaxed her dislike for the girl. It was obvious from their interactions that Harry was acting like Bill and Charlie did with her at the Burrow. Harry had even called Phoenix his god-sister. After last year Ginny found herself being ignored by her roommates whom were scared of her and her strange behavior. It was one of the reasons she was hoping to hang around with her brother and his friends. She was also hoping to get over her crush on Harry so she could actually talk to him once in a while. She was tired of being lonely, and after two years of it, she was open to the idea of maybe getting along with this new girl. She invited the girl to a game of exploding snap which Phoenix gratefully accepted. The other joined in and had a great time, minus the small visit from Malfoy that was over as soon as Lupin's presence was pointed out to him.

The game had been put away after the visit and Harry had been about to suggest they get their school robes out when the train began to stop and the lights went out. As the air began to chill Harry stepped out into the corridor to see if he could find a reason for the train to have stopped. As the chill built Harry stepped back in a closed the door. Phoenix was more aware of what was happening because her mother had once described the torture that her father went through every day to a friend of hers during tea, and hadn't known that Phoenix was listening. Knowing what was coming she grabbed Remus's shoulder and shook him to wake him.

"Please Mr. Lupin, you have to wake up. The dementors are coming!" Phoenix pleaded.

"Dementors? What are they?" Ron asked and the others began asking questions but Phoenix was determined to wake the professor.

"I'm awake Phoenix." Lupin said tiredly. Just as he began to stand the door opened and a scaly hand reached in the compartment.

"Sirius Black is not on the train!" Lupin stated as he stood and walked towards the creatures, pushing the children behind him. "Leave the children alone."

The dementor was not convinced and pointed towards Phoenix as it sucked in large amounts of air. Its attention turned towards Harry as he started to stumble backwards. The dementor let out a cry that filled the inhabitance of the train with dread and fear. Within moments there was two more dementors standing behind the first one. Their cries added to the almost painful cold. The lead dementor pointed once again to Phoenix as if demanding that Lupin turn her over.

"I told you Sirius Black is not on the train. Get back!" He yelled. When they did not retreat he cried out, "_Expecto Patronum," _and a shield of white mist separated him and the children from the dementors. He tried to push the dementors back and out of the doorway but they did not move. Their cries were causing the children in the surrounding compartments to scream and cry out. As the dementors began to feed once more on the inhabitance of the room, Remus heard someone fall behind him.

"Harry! Oh Merlin, no!" Phoenix cried as she fell over him to protect him from anymore of the dementors feeding. There was an intense pulling of air surrounding the two and Phoenix gave a soft cry before she too passed out.

It was several more moments before a small group of five aurors came forward. "So what did you find you bloody creatures?" One of them yelled in a frightfully cheerful way.

The aurors blasted the dementors with patronus charms making them move away from the door. "Oh I knew this was a bad idea!" One of the aurors said as he took in the condition of the compartment. Two children were passed out, three other children were scared to death and the adult looked ready to collapse from the strain of keeping up a patronus shield up to keep the three dementors out.

The lead Auror ordered the dementors off the train and left to go up front and ordered the conductor to get the train to Hogwarts as fast as possible. He ordered the other aurors onboard to hand out their supply of chocolate to any children still suffering the effects of the creatures. The one Auror left behind in the compartment helped Lupin use the _rennervate_ spell to wake Harry and Phoenix.

"I am really sorry about this. I told Proudfoot that searching the train would be a bad idea." The Auror apologized. "I mean someone would have noticed a mass murderer on the train long before it got to this point." He rambled as he took in the identity of the children from their appearances. It was obvious who he was looking at; Harry Potter, two Weasleys and two other friends. Someone's head was going to roll when this got out!

"I take it this little adventure wasn't authorized by the ministry." Lupin said with disgust as he handed out chocolate from the Auror to Harry and then Phoenix before giving what he had left to the others. "Eat it, it will help you feel better." He said to the kids. Phoenix instantly placed it in her mouth and let the chocolate melt. Harry sighed and placed it in his mouth after seeing Phoenix do the same. The warmth from the chocolate made them both feel a little warmer.

"No it wasn't, and I told Proudfoot not to do it, but he's upset that Dumbledore doesn't want them on the school grounds." The Auror continued. "And now the damn things have attacked Harry Potter!"

"And my sister." Harry snapped at the man, hating that the main reason the Auror seemed to be upset was his identity. The Auror looked shocked as did everyone else in the room at the venomousness in his voice except Phoenix who hugged Harry and held on to him. Remus looked at the two and could see the same stubborn look that James would get when he was daring anyone to disagree with him.

"Perhaps it would be best if you guarded the compartment from the _outside_ while I take care of the children." Remus suggested to the Auror. Once the Auror nodded eagerly and stepped out, Remus cast several privacy charms and looked back at the children. "Are you all feeling better?" He asked with concern. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all reported to be feeling better.

Harry looked to Phoenix before nodding his head. "I heard a woman screaming my name as I passed out but other than that I'm fine."

"That might have been me." She told him in a shaky voice. "I tried to stop them from feeding on you and yelled when you fell down."

"There was a lot of screaming from the other compartments too." Hermione added. Her voice also betrayed her fear behind the encounter.

Remus handed out more chocolate to the group that he unpacked from his briefcase. "Nothing helps get rid of that cheerlessness dementors leave behind better than chocolate." He explained to them. "For some reason it restores a magical person's positive energy." He tried to sound cheery as he too ate some of the chocolate.

"It works for muggles too." Hermione said in her best know-it-all voice. "At least my mother swears it does."

For the rest of the ride towards Hogwarts Harry, Hermione and Ron asked Remus for as much information as they could about Dementors. The answers surprised them, but the two youngest children were silent. Ginny seemed lost in her own private nightmare of memories brought on by the dementors. Even holding on to her brother's arm wasn't helping. Phoenix sat back and thought of her one episode with the creature. The memories of being caught out during a full moon had replayed when the creature was close. She wondered how her father could have survived twelve years with them, replaying his worst memories.

As they got to the platform Remus seemed reluctant to separate the children. Harry and the other could of course head up to the castle in the carriages but Phoenix was suppose to cross the lake in a small boat without a magic using teacher. With the interest they showed in her on the train he wasn't so sure she'd make it across the lake and into the wards of Hogwarts safely.

Hagrid seemed concerned and had come over to check on Harry and his friends. After seeing they were alright Hagrid was about to try to separate Phoenix from Harry when he refused to let her go. Harry turned to Remus.

"Professor I don't think she'll be safe…" He said looking down towards the boats where they first years normally left the station from.

"Nonsense Harry I can take care of the first years don't yea know." Hagrid tried to reassure him.

"I'm sorry Hagrid but I have to agree with Harry." Remus spoke up. "The dementors had a particular interest in young Ms. B-"

"I'll just stay with Harry then Professor!" Phoenix quickly cut in.

"But it's tradition for First years to come cross the lake." Hagrid said with some surprise. "Yea don't want to miss the first sight of Hogwarts from that view."

The Auror who had been shadowing the group since they left the compartment on the train spoke up. "I could escort the first years across the lake." He offered. "We wouldn't want there to be anymore unfortunate incidents."

Remus looked towards the Auror and could see his obvious remorse for the earlier encounter and his need to make up for it. "Are you sure you can keep them away from her, Mr.…?" He asked.

"Auror Matheson Peakes, sir." He said. "And yes sir I have one of the strongest patronus in the corps." He held his hand out to Phoenix who shyly took it. "I promise to take care of Ms. Sutherland."

Remus gave the man a concerned looked but nodded his head. Harry was reluctant to let her go without him but she had lifted her head and gave him a smile before she released his hand and began to walk away towards the boat without a word or backward glance.

Harry watched her go feeling a mix of protectiveness and pride. Ron clapped his hand down on his shoulder making him jump slightly. "She'll make Gryffindor for sure." He said with a smile for his best mate.

Harry grinned back. "I'm sure she will."

Phoenix was shaking like a leaf inside as she walked away from Harry and his friends. Surrounded by adults she looked as if she had an honor guard leading her to the boats. Once there she slipped into a boat with both Remus and Auror Peakes. Hagrid as always took the lead boat by himself. With a cry of 'Forward' the boats began to move in a steady pace towards the wards of Hogwarts.

As the ride began she cursed the Auror for stepping in. When Remus had nearly said her last name she suddenly realized she'd never corrected Harry's assumption that her last name was Sutherland. She had been hoping for a chance to explain it to him in the carriage but now it was too late. She knew the next time he saw her it would be at the sorting when her name would be called out. Remus was now looking at her in the same manner that Mr. Weasley had been the night before, with a great deal of suspicion. She only hoped that Harry would understand that she had been in as much danger as everyone thought he was while they were in the Alley together. If her name had become public knowledge there was no way of telling if her father would have been tempted to come after or not, the risk had been deemed to great by Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Her attention was pulled from her thoughts by the suddenness of the cold, making her feel as if someone had dunked her in the lake. Several dementors were closing in on the boats. Looking towards the creatures she realized that there was nowhere for her to hide from them this time. Auror Peakes cast his wand produced a silver cat with facial markings that reminded her of a cougar. It sat in front of her snarling and swiping its paws at the creatures trying to come closer to her. Remus cast his shield and place it in front of her also warding the creatures away.

Hagrid noticing the attention the creatures had for the young girl yelled 'FASTER' and the boats began to move at a much quicker pace. The dementors screeched their displeasure and began to fly quickly to intercept the boats before they could cross the wards, but the patronuses kept them from harming Phoenix physically. By the time they reached the shore Phoenix had been given another dose of chocolate but still needed to be supported by Hagrid and Remus up the stairs.

"I've never seen dementors so determined before." Peakes said. "It makes no sense for them to be so attracted to the girl." He explained as he too walked up the stairs with the extremely frightened first years.

"I had a feeling they might be once I met her, but I had no idea they would get a chance to be this close to her." Remus muttered.

"But it makes no sense." Peakes insisted.

"It does when you think about who her father is." Remus snarled. "And as Aurors you should have known about it before setting dementors on a group of children that included her."

"Look unless her father is Black then-"The Auror started.

"HE IS." Remus yelled at him. Hagrid jumped back and let go of Phoenix as if he'd been burn while Peakes stood gapping.

"WHAT?" Peakes yelled. "WHY WEREN'T WE BLOODY WELL TOLD ABOUT THIS?"

Phoenix's eyes finally let the tears that had been threatening to fall cascade down her cheeks. "Because Auror Shacklebolt wanted me behind the Hogwarts wards before Black or the public found out about me." Her tiny voice trembled as she used what little strength she had left to stay standing.

The girl looked sick despite the chocolate. Peakes professional indignation disappeared as he looked down at the child standing there with a great deal of determination. "I am sorry Miss Black. If I had known we could have protected you better." She gave him a small nod.

Professor McGonagall appeared at the top of the steps and was surprised to see so many people standing with a group of overly stressed first years. After being apprised of the situation by Hagrid the stern professor simply nodded and lead the first years into the hall while Hagrid who normally slipped in and went to the head table helped support Phoenix into the hall.

There was a lot of murmuring as the upperclassmen saw the first years enter. Harry looked torn between staying where he was as he was suppose to and going over to his obviously distress friend. She gave him a small smile and shook her head at him before turning her attention to the sorting hat.

The song was about what Phoenix had been expecting. It was about the four houses and the traits they were supposed to represent. The song also reminded students not to judge the others but encouraged cooperation with them. Soon the names began to be called. It was only three students before her name was called.

"Black, Phoenix!" McGonagall called out.

Phoenix pushed herself away from Hagrid and straightened her back and schooled her face into as an impassive mask as she could, hoping she didn't look as frightened as she felt. Walking slowly she could hear gasps all around her as people got their first look at the 'obvious' daughter of the killer Sirius Black.

She waited for McGonagall to place the hat on her head and was grateful to feel it slip down enough to block her view of the room. "You are certainly a surprise, oh yes you are." The Hat said in her mind. "The teachers were certainly not expecting you."

"Most people didn't know I exist." She told it.

The Hat laughed. "I know I can see that in your mind. But the question before me is where to put you."

"Just please not in Slytherin." She begged. "I don't think Professor Snape and I would be capable of co-existing if what Harry says is true."

"Oh yes, I can understand that fear." The Hat said thoughtfully. "You are very much like your father was." It said to her. "Better be 'GRYFFINDOR'!" The Hat roared the last word.

"Thank you Mr. Hat." She said quietly. She began to remove it when the Hat spoke once more.

"You are welcome Ms. Black. You are going to make a fine Gryffindor." It predicted.

Looking up Phoenix realized that no one was clapping as they had for the other students. Fearfully she looked towards Harry and saw him looking confused.

When the name Black was called, Harry and the others all shared stunned looks. Neville who was across from Ginny even squeaked, "A Black!"

"Bloody Hell!" Ron whispered. "She's a Black Harry. Did you know?"

Harry shook his head as he tried to remember any time in the past several weeks in which she had said her last name. He couldn't come up with a single time. Even the few times he'd run into people in the Alley they all called her Sutherland and she had ducked her head as an acknowledgement. Or had she? He wondered. What if she was moving her head to hide a facial expression that might have given things away? He did the same thing when he didn't want people to notice him, and on the very first day she hadn't cared about his scar, just in helping him not gain attention. What eleven year old understood that? One that doesn't want any attention herself, he answered himself. He tuned back into the conversation Hermione was having with Ginny with a quick shake of his head.

"So she would automatically have her father's last name on the rolls." Hermione clarified.

"Yes. The name is automatic at birth and the rolls record every magical birth of UK citizens." Ginny explained.

Harry turned his confused expression back towards the Hat in time to see the girl he had began to think of as a sister looking at him with fear.

His expression gave her hope as she took her first step towards the table. After a moment he smiled and waved for her to come to him. Her smile brighten as she ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. "Thank you." She whispered. "I'll explain everything later ok?"

Harry shrugged and made room for her it sit beside him. As he did the whole room broke into loud conversations. "I imagine it has to do with our Auror shadows all summer." He suggested. "And you never did _say_ you were a Sutherland." He said with a playful smirk.

She nodded. "Kingsley was worried about giving Black a reason to come into the Alley. You'll notice that your presence in the Alley was kept out of the papers too once you arrived."

Harry shrugged. "Why would they care about it?"

Ron piped up. "You're kidding? You do know that every time you have been in the Alley before this summer it was reported in the papers, don't you?"

Harry looked surprised. "Of course he didn't Ron." Hermione argued. "It's not like any of us were getting the 'Daily Prophet' daily before now."

"And we are getting it now?" Ron asked her looking confused.

"I am." She replied. "I thought it was a good way of keeping up on what was happening in the wizarding world while I was in the muggle one."

The conversations were cut off as the Sorting continued and the students were clapping again. Once the students were all sitting, Dumbledore began his speech. He explained about the dementors and the danger they represented. He also introduced the new teachers. Harry and his friends cheered loudly for both which in turn got the Gryffindors cheering loudly as well for the new Defense teacher.

During the dinner even Neville began to ask a few questions about how Phoenix and Harry had met. Soon most of Gryffindor was talking about 'Harry's little sister' and it was spreading to the other tables. Tales of studying with a potion mistress, shopping and the trouble Phoenix was having before Harry became her protector were shared along with tales of how Harry had earned his 'hazard pay' by keeping the young heir to the House of Black out of trouble. Tales of Egypt were told by both Ron and Ginny. Hermione shared some of her favorite places in France that she visited. Neville even joined in with tales of the political parties he'd been forced to attend with his grandmother.

After dinner Professor McGonagall asked to speak to Harry, Hermione and Phoenix. She lead both Harry and Phoenix to Madame Pomfrey who was quite upset to find they had not been brought to her before the feast while Professor McGonagall spoke to Hermione privately in Pomfrey's office.

"I understand you were attacked repeatedly Ms. Black." The matron said as she began to cast diagnostic spells over her.

"Yes Ma'am." Phoenix responded politely. "They seem to have an attraction to me."

She tisked and muttered under her breath about the evilness of the creatures. "Well I can't see any lasting damage on you." She frowned as she again did one more spell to check on her health. "I was told you passed out."

"Yes Ma'am." She said again. "On the train, but Professor Lupin gave me some chocolate and when they attacked again on the lake they didn't get close enough to do more then make me cold. But the Auror, Mr. Peakes gave me some more chocolate before the sorting."

"So they did come after you again." Harry said concerned.

She nodded. "Mr. Peakes thinks it's because they were looking for my dad, and so they see me as a part of him."

Madame Pomfrey shook her head as she began the same scans on Harry. "At least Professor Lupin knew how to reverse the effects of a dementor's aura." She ran one last quick spell over Harry. "He did a good job, nothing left for you both but to get some sleep."

"Can we go back to the dorms then Ma'am?" Phoenix asked.

Madame Pomfrey smiled warmly at the polite child. "Yes of course. I think sleeping in your own beds would be better than in a dreary hospital wing."

They waited a few moment for Hermione before they left the hospital wing. On the way up Hermione was a little evasive about what McGonagall had wanted but had said it was about her classes. Once they got to the common room (Hermione had been given the password by McGonagall), Harry and Phoenix both agreed they were too tired to talk that night. The two girls bid Harry good night before heading up to their dorms.

When they reached the first year dorm they found Phoenix's trunk outside the door with a note saying she wasn't welcome in their room.

"They can't do that!" Hermione seethed while Phoenix tried to grasp what was happening.

"They did." She whispered dejectedly.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and glared at the door. "For tonight you can come to my room and then tomorrow we will talk to Professor McGonagall and get them put in their place." She grab one end of Phoenix's trunk and waited for her to pick up the other side. "Let's go. My room is just two doors down."

They walked in silence and entered the dorm room. Hermione's two other dorm mates looked up in surprise. "Phoenix meet Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Ladies this is Phoenix Black, she'll be staying with us for this evening at the very least." Her voice brokered no complaint from her room mates.

Lavender smiled. "Any friend of yours is a friend of ours."

"That must be why there is an extra bed in here." Parvati agreed. "It appeared just a minute before you both walked in."

Phoenix was exhausted and gave both of the girls a very small smile and without a word slipped into her night wear and slipped into her bed. Once her curtains were closed Lavender and Parvati began to question what was going on. When Hermione explained about the first year girls reaction the other two were just as outraged as Hermione seemed to be. Phoenix could barely keep her eyes open after hearing Lavender telling Hermione that regardless of what happened tomorrow, Phoenix would always be welcome in their dorm. At least she knew she would not be alone in facing the school tomorrow.

"The poor thing." Parvati sighed. "So much in one day."

* * *

A/N: Ok things are getting established. :) Hope you are all enjoying it. Just a note that the prologue had to be re-uploaded. There was a problem and half of it didn't appear the first time.


	4. PoA Chapter 3

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © and tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 3 – New classes

Hermione was waiting for both Harry and Percy in the common room first thing in the morning. Percy came down first and Hermione filled him in on what had happened the night before. Percy had been appalled at the behavior of the first years and had promised to bring it to Professor McGonagall's attention at breakfast. He also praised her for her responsible reaction the night before and bringing the matter to his attention.

Harry had gone to bed the night before feeling quite drained by his encounter with the dementors and when he woke this morning was concerned that Phoenix might be having a worse night then he had since she had been attacked twice, although he seemed to be affected by them more than she had. When he came down and saw Hermione glaring at the stairs leading to the girl's dorms he felt a shiver of apprehension pass through him.

"Harry! I need to talk to you." Hermione said with a measure of annoyance in her voice.

Harry's eyes opened wider as his apprehension increased. Hermione was quite scary when she was annoyed. He'd seen her tear into Ron when she was in that kind of mood, but it had never been directed at him, and he never wanted it to be. "Sure Hermione." He said quickly. "Private or is the couch fine? I wanted to wait for Ron and Phoenix before heading down to breakfast." He explained.

Hermione nodded with her lips pressed together in manner very similar to professor McGonagall. "Phoenix had another problem last night." She told him. She quickly informed him of what had happened with the first years the night before and she also explained what her and her roommates had done to correct the issue. "And so I explained the issue to Percy and he is going to handle it and let Professor McGonagall know at breakfast."

Harry had clenched his fists tightly at his side and was now almost shaking with anger. "How dare they!" He snarled menacingly.

"They won't get away with it Harry, I promise you that." Hermione vowed again shooting an angry glare at the steps.

"Thanks for looking out for her Hermione." Harry said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. His action surprised Hermione. She had thought herself an expert on her friend, but he had never initiated physical interactions with people except in extreme emotional moments like when she had woken last year, and even then it had been a short hug.

"I'm glad that you and Phoenix have bonded so well." She said, giving Harry a smile of approval when he looked towards her.

"What?" He asked confused.

Hermione shrugged. "You seem to have developed a really close relationship with her very quickly. And you seem happier because of it."

Harry couldn't help but let a fond smile cross his face. "She's the first person who ever seemed to want to tell me anything about my parents." Harry explained. "And in return I felt like I had as much to offer her by telling her about Hogwarts. It was also because she didn't care that I was the Boy-Who-Lived, she was more interested in me because I was the son of her mother's friend. Do you know what I mean?" He asked her, trying to make sure she understood why the relationship hadn't needed a troll or a Basilisk trying to kill poor Phoenix to create the same level of connection he had with his other friends.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. It makes perfect sense."

"I guess it's also that her mother is my godmother." Harry said with a far-away look at his thoughts turned inward. "She isn't just someone who knew them in passing. She was my mother's best friend." He said. "In a way I feel closer to my mother when I talk to her. My aunt Petunia hates my mother and tried to make me hate her too." He said letting his thoughts come out in a way that Hermione had never seen from her friend. "I did when I was younger. I hated her for leaving me with the Dursleys and for being a worthless drunk who didn't love me as a mother should."

"Oh Harry." Hermione cried. "That's not true."

Harry was pulled from his thoughts at her cry. He looked at her stricken face and shook his head. "I know that now." He said with a growing smile. "I have someone who actually witnessed how much they both loved me and who is willing to tell me about her."

Hermione nodded. "I'm glad you have that from them both."

Harry smiled. "It's one of the reasons I'm not worried about Phoenix's last name. I already know what it's like being judge by your name and I know what she is really like and I care about that person, not who she is related to."

Hermione bit her lip. "Do you think she's a close relative of Black's?" Her fear of Black and his intentions made her voice softer.

Harry shrugged. "She can't help who her family is." He said sadly. "I wouldn't choose my family if I had a choice."

"But do you think she is?" Hermione pressed. "Would he want to come here even more because she is here?"

Neither of them had noticed Phoenix slip down the stairs and come over to the couches they were sitting on. "He's my father." She whispered. Her eyes never leaving Harry's.

His face expressed his sympathy for her situation. "Are you ok?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I've known all my life what he was. I just never thought that I'd…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes filled with tears.

Harry gathered her into his arms and rubbed her back gently. "It doesn't matter."

"Really?" She asked. Her hold on his waist tightened.

"Really. Truly." He told her.

She took a step back and wiped her eyes with the edge of her school tie. "I was worried when I didn't get a chance to tell you before the sorting."

Harry chuckled. "Well I can't say it wasn't a surprise, but like I said to Hermione, we don't choose our family members."

Hermione sat back and watched with a lightened heart at her friend reassuring the young girl that he would still be her friend anyway. It reminded her of how Harry had decided to come to her rescue her despite her being an annoying know-it-all.

"Why don't you see what is taking Ron so long Harry. That way we can get to breakfast, and get our schedules." Hermione said.

It took nearly ten minutes for Harry to return with Neville and Ron. It was a good thing Harry had been upstairs when the first year girls had come down and left through the portrait hole. Hermione's glare had sent them scurrying. Had Harry been there with his new big brother attitude the girls would have been lucky to leave the tower without a hex or two cast at them. Ginny had come down during the time them had been waiting for the boys and Phoenix had been very grateful for Ginny's offer to become study partners since she had so much first year work to catch up on. Phoenix liked the idea of getting a leg up on her second year transfiguration and instantly agreed. Hermione told them that she would try to answer any questions they had but was concerned that she wouldn't be able to give them too much time since she was taking all the third year courses.

Breakfast was an interesting experience right from the moment that they entered. Ron, Ginny and Neville had been informed that Sirius Black was indeed Phoenix's father and the three had taken one look at Harry's arm around her shoulder and simply nodded their heads, although Neville edged slightly further away from her. They were also updated on what had happened in the girls dorms last night. Harry had kept his arm around her on the way over to the table. Harry purposefully placed Phoenix between himself and Hermione showing everyone that Phoenix had his support and protection. Because he'd been so preoccupied with Phoenix's issues, he never noticed Malfoy and his group of followers pretending to swoon and faint. The lack of response from the group of Gryffindors made the joke seem pathetic and they soon stopped laughing with Malfoy, leaving him slightly flustered and frustrated.

Harry had however noticed the uneasy looks that passed between a few of the professors and the thoughtful look on Professor Dumbledore's face as he looked back and forth from the letter in his hand and the young girl who was causing such a stir in the great hall that morning. Professor McGonagall came by shortly after to pass out their timetables and told Phoenix her presence was required in the Headmaster's office after breakfast and she would be excused from being late for her first Transfiguration lesson.

The rest of the great hall seemed to be whispering and pointing at Phoenix or talking louder about their classes or catching up with their friends over the summer. The exception to that were the four first year girls from Gryffindor who seemed to be glaring at them. Clearly they had already been spoken to this morning.

Once breakfast was over Harry and his friend left to go to their first classes. Since Harry's first was Divination he escorted Phoenix as far as the floor with Dumbledore's office and gave her directions on how to get there before he gave her a reassuring smile and fled up the stairs to catch up with Neville, Hermione and Ron.

Phoenix took a deep breath and made sure her pendent was in place against her skin and under her robes. It was one of the rules of attending Hogwarts from her mother. Never leave the dorms without the protection of that pendent and never let Dumbledore, McGonagall or Snape (Especially Snape) see it. She wasn't sure how it protected her mind but she could easily imagine Professor Snape trying to read her mind with his evil looking glares.

The gargoyle let her pass when she said the password given to her my Professor McGonagall. As the stairs turned she grounded herself and prepared to face the most powerful wizard in the world. She knocked and waited to be admitted. Dumbledore called for her and she entered the bright but cluttered looking office looking much more confident than she felt. Dumbledore sat behind his desk looking towards the door where she stood with a kind smile on his face. To the side of his seat was a bright red and gold Phoenix.

Without thinking the girl walked over to the bird. "You must be Fawkes." She said with a smile. The bird gave her a sharp chirp and a nod. "I am please to meet you. Mother named me after you. She said I was going to be as beautiful as you one day." Fawkes was eating up the attention. He gave the old man a call signaling his adoration for the young girl, further confounding the old man who had not expected such a reaction from a first year or his familiar. He was also confused by the fact that he could not pick up any stray thoughts from the child.

Looking back towards Dumbledore, she blushed lightly. "I am sorry sir. I just couldn't resist." She walked back so that she was standing in front of the desk and looking at Dumbledore.

He continued to smile kindly at her. "Please be seated Ms. Black." He said before offering her a lemon drop. She took one and licked the side of it with the tip of her tongue.

"Is that a calming draught?" She asked as she tasted a slightly minty flavor in the powdery coating of the candy.

Professor Dumbledore looked surprised. "Yes, I find students who come into my office are often frightened and a touch of the calming powder helps to make the situation less frightening." He said as he regained his equilibrium.

Phoenix inwardly smirked. Her mother had told her about the Headmasters candies. Had she not been warned, the subtle taste would have been completely undetectable to her. She also knew that it was harmless as the Headmaster himself had popped one in his mouth before she had even tasted hers. Showing her trust in him she popped the whole candy in her mouth this time. "This is how all potions should be administered. Kids would never refuse their potions then." She said with a chuckle.

Dumbledore couldn't help but start to chuckle with her, until he recalled another student who' had the ability to charm the staff with his 'devil may care' humor and charm. "Yes, the taste of potions tends to put children off." He said. He cleared his throat softly, signaling the end of the small talk and Phoenix pulled herself into the traditional posture of a child giving respect to an elder. Her shoulders straightened, her eyes focused on his, and her hands were clasped in front of her stomach to show they were empty of distractions.

Dumbledore was again distracted by how much like her father the girl was in her mannerisms and movement. She held a simple grace and fluid of movement that given time and effort could translate into quick reflexes and skill for dueling. That same grace is what made Sirius such a dangerous foe, when he was taking the fight seriously. Too often he had played with his opponent before taking them down. Once more he cleared his throat to pull himself from his thoughts. "I understand that there was some confusion in your dorm last evening."

"Confusion sir?" Phoenix asked, barely keeping herself from snorting at the understatement. "There was no confusion sir. My current dorm mates have welcomed me and I am very grateful for their kindness." Fawkes gave a small series of notes that gave Phoenix the impression that the bird was laughing.

"Be that as it may. I was referring to you intended dorm mates." He said.

Phoenix held her pose. "They do not wish me to be in their room sir. And to be honest I'd rather not have to force anyone to stay in the same room with me when my very existence makes them wish to do me harm."

Dumbledore gave her a patronizing smile. "Be that as it may. We separate you by years so that you can get to know your year mates. Having only friends in the older years will not make your time in class enjoyable."

"Professor, if you force people to accept me against their will, aren't they just going to resent it." And me, she thought to herself.

"I am sure you will be able to get along with your other classmates once they get used to the idea." He said, again smiling patronizingly.

"As you wish Headmaster." She said formally.

"Now I know you have concerns but you can take them up with Professor McGonagall. However there is one other reason I wished to speak to you." He said no longer smiling.

"Yes Headmaster?" She said carefully.

"I was wondering why we had no indication that you were Sirius Black's daughter or that you would be attending Hogwarts."

Phoenix had been expecting this. "I don't see why it would have been an issue when I replied to your acceptance letter. AT the time my father was locked up in Azkaban. AS to why you were not notified I would have to guess it would be because I was not asked in my acceptance letter to give my blood status or linage, nor did the Auror in charge of my safety deem it necessary to inform anyone on staff or even his own men under his command. He had been hoping to keep my existence from the press until after I was safely behind the Hogwarts wards."

"Who was this Auror?" Dumbledore asked.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, sir." She told him. "His was in charge of my safety and that of Harry once he was in the Alley with me." Dumbledore raised a brow at that information. "My cousin Auror Tonks was the first to understand who I was. Although I informed Mr. Shacklebolt myself before she had a chance to tell him."

"You and Harry met in the Alley?" He asked carefully, not trying to give too much information away.

Phoenix nodded. "Yes. We were the only two under aged people living at the Leaky Cauldron for over two weeks sir."

"I see." He said carefully again. "In light of the attacks last night Ms. Black and their special attraction to you, I will have to ask that you stay away from the edge of the wards of Hogwarts. Please stay within the walls at all times and do not pass the gate. First and second years are not allowed to go to Hogsmeade. However some have been known to accidently wander. I do not recommend that you be one of these children." He said gravely.

Phoenix gave him her assurances that she would be careful and Dumbledore dismissed her.

Transfiguration was well underway when she arrived. Professor McGonagall had finished her lecture and was moving on to the practical portion when she arrived. The only seat left in the class was on the Ravenclaw side of the room, which suited her fine.

Orla Quirke, the Ravenclaw first year that she shared her table with, was kind enough to let her borrow her notes and she quickly set to work catching up while the other girl practiced the spell on her matchstick. Once she finished copying the notes she watched Orla practice for a moment before she closed her eyes and began her visualization. Her mother always said magic was about what you can imagine and the clearer your intention the easier it was to cast magic. Once she could see what it was she wanted her magic to do, she prepare to move her wand without the incantation. Once she was certain she had the movement about right, she said the incantation quietly several times, as if committing it to memory. Only then did she make the attempt to cast the spell.

Unknowingly Professor McGonagall had been watching her for the past several minutes. When she made her attempt she had half-closed her eyes and her matchstick became a bright, shiny silver metal match with a slightly pointy end. She smiled as her first attempt was much better than her mother had said her own had been.

Professor McGonagall was surprised and came over to her. "That was a very good first attempt Ms. Black." She said encouragingly. "You just need to spend a few more moments on the visualizing and I believe you will have it."

Phoenix took the time to visualize the needle completely finished; she took the time to 'see' the whole needle. She opened her eyes and nodded to the professor before she again cast the spell on another match, this time the match's point was still quite dull, but it was unmistakably a needle.

"Very good Ms Black, ten points to Gryffindor." She said with satisfaction. "And five to Ravenclaw for helping another student get caught up Ms. Quirke" She said to Phoenix's table partner.

When the professor left Orla smiled and held out her hand to shake. "Could you tell me what I am doing differently then you?" The girl asked. "I just can't seem to get mine to change from wood to metal."

Phoenix gladly helped her with her visualizing. By the end of class they both had passable needles, had earned another five points for Gryffindor and ten for Ravenclaw. They both were excused from the essay assigned to those that hadn't managed as much as they had. The same could not be said for the other Gryffindor girls who had been glaring and whispering about her.

Phoenix waited for all the other students to leave before she walked up to Professor McGonagall. "Professor, can I have a moment of your time?"

"Of course you can Ms. Black." She said kindly. "How can I help you?"

"Well you see ma'am, I've been training with my mother since I was six in potions." She said feeling slightly shy suddenly. "She is a potion mistress." She explained. The professor nodded but her expression was starting to frown. "Well I was wondering if it would be possible to test out for the year ma'am."

Professor McGonagall had a confused expression on her face. "What do you mean by testing out?"

"I was wondering if it would be possible to do a practical and written test to determine my grade for the year rather than waste the professor's time overseeing me in class when the other students would need his attention." She looked at the growing frown on the professors face. "I was lead to believe that I would be an unwelcome distraction in the professors classroom." She added.

"And I suppose Mr. Potter gave you that impression." She said sternly, looking even more angry by the minute.

"No ma'am." Phoenix said with wide eyes. "My mother informed me that Professor Snape would not appreciate the daughter of someone who tried to kill him in his classroom!" She explained, she got the pleasure of seeing Professor McGonagall's eyes nearly pop out of her head. "With Professor Lupin in the castle, my father running around who knows where I am sure he would rather he did not have to waste his time with me when I am getting the education from someone else."

Professor McGonagall was unsure what to say at this point. "While I can appreciate the fact that you are going to be advanced compared to your classmates I cannot just excuse you from the class." She told her. "I will however discuss the matter with Professor Snape and see if it is something he believes you might be ready for, after he sees your skills in the classroom."

Phoenix nodded. "Thank you ma'am."

She left and ran towards the potions dungeon. Quickly waving to Harry and his friend as she saw them heading towards transfiguration, funnily enough she thought she saw Hermione again a few minutes later going into an empty classroom near the stairs leading to the charms corridor, but shrugged it off. She only had two more minutes until Potions and she had to still get down one more flight of stairs.

As it stood she got to the class just as he opened the door. Being at the back of the group meant she ended up on the front row closest to Professor Snape's desk. It was the last place she had wanted to be, but luckily she was seated with a boy from Gryffindor and not one of the girls.

The class began as Harry had described it. Snape had made his little speech and had started roll call. She noticed his eyes glaring at her as he said her name. Once roll was done she awaited the pop quiz he would be sure to give the group. But instead he began to teach them about the potion and then had them begin brewing. She took out her potion kit with a feeling of dread. As she began to prep her ingredients she could feel the greasy bat's heated gaze on the back of her head and then after she started her fire and began to heat the required amount of water he stepped directly in front of her. He seemed to be frowning instead of sneering and Phoenix hoped this was a good sign.

"You did not get any of the ingredients from the supply closest." He said with an accusatory tone.

Phoenix shook her head. "No sir." She said in her most polite voice. "My mother said to never use ingredients that you yourself have not picked or prepared in any potion as you can never be sure if they have been handled correctly."

Snape glared at her. "Are you suggesting that my ingredients are not properly prepared?" He snarled.

She shook her head. "No sir. But you have not been able to supervise the students going in and touching your supplies and be out here to make sure that no one burned themselves or caused some other type of screw up. Even a master can't be in two places at one time." She said as respectfully as possible.

Snape was once again frowning but he had not taken any points away from Gryffindor. "I suppose she choose your equipment as well."

Phoenix shook her head. "No sir, she taught me what to look for and has been teaching me about potions since I was six, sir."

Snape now looked thoughtful as he looked at her kit and her handling of the knife and the precision of her cutting. "Who is your mother?"

Phoenix placed her knife down and looked up into Snape's eyes. "Potions Mistress Althea Sutherland, sir."

Whispers broke out around the room as the few who knew that name quickly filled in the others around them of who her mother was. Snape's eyebrows rose and he nodded sharply. But when Phoenix did not resume working but continued to look at him he frowned. "Get back to work."

Phoenix nodded her head respectfully. "Yes, master Snape." She said before picking up her knife and began o resume her cutting. Snape gave a small start at the respect she had shown his skill level but had quietly stalked away.

"What was that about?" The boy beside her asked.

Phoenix shrugged. "He is a master and he had asked for my attention. It is not acceptable behavior to turn your attention away from a master unless an explosion or some other disaster is about to occur."

The boy looked over his shoulder at the other Gryffindors. "Are you really related to Sirius Black?" He boy asked.

She nodded her head. Since Harry now knew and didn't mind she didn't really care who knew. The news was likely to be in the papers by tomorrow. "He's my father." She said simply as she kept working.

Everyone who had been listening in made a clamor of noise as they dropped knives, made exclamations or moved away from her. The boy beside her paled and nearly bumped their table in an effort to back away. Snape was not pleased. He removed sixty points for the incident. Phoenix just kept working as if nothing had happened. At the end of class she handed in a textbook perfect potion in a well labeled bottle. Snape took the vial from her with a nod that she returned with a slight bow, as was required of an apprentice to a master. Snape again seemed to be surprised by the action and allowed it without comment. Phoenix was grateful that she got a chance to leave the classroom without getting into a shouting match with the man. Althea certainly knew her old friend. Treating him with the respect that the man had earned certainly had him wondering about what to do with her. Hopefully he'd allow her to test out and then they could avoid one another.

Harry's day had been horrible so far. First he'd finally found out what that black dog near his home had been. A death omen, a black grim dog that symbolized death. Then the teacher had informed him that it meant that death was stalking him. As if Voldemort and Black being out there somewhere wasn't obvious enough. Then transfiguration had been harder than he expected because he couldn't concentrate on the assignment, which meant he'd have to write the short essay on why he'd had such a hard time in class today. And it was now only lunch! He still had Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid, who had suggested that his first lesson would be interesting, which also fed the dread in Harry's stomach.

Seeing Dennis Creevey run up to his brother and begin to tell him something at the speed of light that had them both looking over at him with concern. When Colin walked up Harry was certain that his life was cursed. "Harry, did you know that Phoenix's dad is the escaped convict?" He asked. His question was loud enough that most of the great hall heard it and seemed to be waiting with baited breath to hear his answer.

"I really don't see how that's any of your business." Harry said with a glare.

Instantly the room exploded in whispers. Colin looked stricken. "I was just making sure cause it seems odd that you'd be friends with the man who killed your parents." He said softly.

Harry's gut felt like someone had punched him. All the air in his lungs evaporated and he couldn't seem to take a breath. "Voldemort killed Harry's parents." Hermione said in a huff. Many of the students around them over-reacted to the use of the Dark Lords name.

Colin nodded quickly. "Yeah but it was Black who told him where to find them. They were in hiding." He explained.

"Where did you hear that?" Harry was finally able to ask.

Phoenix had walked up at that point and was able to answer. "It's part of the explanation the Ministry put out as proof that my father was a 'Death Eater'." She said quietly. "It's the part mother doesn't understand." She told him as she sat down beside him.

Harry sighed and placed his head down on his arms. "Anything else I should know?" He asked from the safety of his position.

"Most likely." She said. "But I don't know a lot of it. And mum doesn't like to talk about it much so I would expect too much from her about it."

Harry couldn't help but sigh again with frustration. "Who would know?"

"Professor Lupin might since he was best friends with your dad and mine." Phoenix said casually.

Harry began to hit his head on the table dramatically. "I am such a stupid prat." He groaned. Looking up at her he shook his head. "You said he was an old friend of your mum's on the train didn't you." He said as he thought back on what she had said about the professor when they had entered the compartment.

Phoenix began to eat her lunch and nodded her head. "Yeah. He was a good friend of both Aunt Lily and Uncle James. But there was some trouble right before they went into hiding and then he disappeared afterwards."

Harry nodded. "Think he'll know what we should know?"

"We?" Phoenix questioned. "To be honest I really don't want to hear why everyone thinks my dad is capable of murder, thanks." She said as she put her fork down. "I need to find the library so I'll catch up with you after classes." She said and she quickly left the hall.

Harry watched her leave and was confused about her abrupt departure. Hermione who was now sitting beside him huffed. "Honestly Harry. Not everyone is as curious as you are about Black."

Ginny piped up for the first time that Harry could remember with a disapproving tone. "She most likely knows a little more than she is comfortable talking to you about. She didn't seem all that surprised that her dad supposed to have betrayed your parents, did it ever occur to you that maybe she knew about it and doesn't want to think about it."

Harry's eyes flew back and forth between the girl's disapproving lectures. "I'll apologize when I find her later." He promised. "I honestly just want people to stop walking up to me and telling me things about my past that I don't know." He said scowling with frustration. The glares and sharp nods between the group members kept many of the other students from questioning them further.

As it turned out being super early for Defense Against the Dark Arts probably wasn't the best idea Phoenix had had all day, but anything was better than spending the rest of the lunch hour near Harry and his endless questions. Normally she enjoyed the connection they shared but her nerves were raw over the morning meeting, classes, and the reactions of her classmates to the news of her parents. Finding a dark corner in the classroom where she could hide for a little while she placed her head down on her knees and finally let the tears she had been holding back all morning to fall. She sobs were quiet but to a werewolf the day after the full moon her sobs could be heard from the confines of his office. The sound pulled him out and it didn't take him long to find the source of the sound.

Phoenix didn't even notice he was there at first but he moved the chair in his way to sit next to her. She raised her head suddenly. Her misery tore at his heart and he was once again unsure of what he should do. Phoenix took the choice from him when she threw her arms around his waist and began to cry on his chest. She felt him tense up before he began to rub her back in soothing circles. After a few breaths he began to relax and added soothing noises as he tried to calm her. She had quite a lot of tears that needed to be shed and he let her cry on him without a word or complaint. Finally when she felt she could control it a little better she pulled back and was a little embarrassed by her loss of control.

"I'm sorry about getting you wet." She whispered.

He cast a drying charm on his chest where the tears had soaked his shirt. "No harm done." He said softly. "Are you feeling better now?" He asked very gently.

She nodded and made an effort not to begin crying again because he was being so kind to her. She hadn't felt this safe since she had entered Hogwarts. "I'm still sorry to intruding on you like this Uncle Moony."

He flinched at the name. "I haven't been called that in…"

Phoenix sighed and pulled farther away from him. "I'm sorry, but I've never called you anything else until yesterday." She explained. "I'll try not to do it again." She said as she pulled herself back into her tight little ball of misery beside him.

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. But let's keep it for when it's just you and I and we are in private, shall we."

Phoenix looked up with surprise. "You wouldn't mind-"

"Of course not." He said, giving her a brave smile. "I just haven't been called by that name for a long time. I was just surprised."

Phoenix nodded. "Thank you." Her voice carried with it her gratitude. But she bit her lip and gave him a smirk. "But um, Harry might call you that too once he figures out your Uncle Moony and not just Professor Lupin. I've been telling him some about you this summer."

Remus smiled down on her. "Should I be worried about what he's heard?"

Phoenix shook her head. "I never said anything about your furry issues." She whispered.

Remus shook his head and chuckled. "I meant about the pranks I used to pull as a marauder. It's hard to punish others when I used to be one of the worst that ever walked these halls."

Phoenix laughed with him. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever get caught."

He gave her a playful nudge. "Just don't repeat any of my old pranks on the teachers please."

She gave him a look of complete innocence that made him groan, she just laughed and her innocent look became an evil smile. "I'd never do something like that! But on my roommates I will give no promises."

Remus chuckled. "That's fair considering what I've heard."

Phoenix nodded looking down at her knees again. "I don't want to be in the dorm with them but Dumbledore is insisting that I need to make friends with my own year mates."

Remus and Phoenix talked for about ten more minutes and he helped by suggesting some locking charms that one of the upper years could possibly help her with and even suggested a simple prank she could do that might make them think twice about messing with her while she was sleeping. When the other students came in there was no sign that she had been crying and was in fact laughing with the instructor.

Dennis Creevey had been forced by lots to sit with her in potions but he decided to sit with her now. "I want to say I'm sorry." He said softly. "I don't believe in all this family and blood stuff, but I was scared about your dad."

Phoenix studied the boy for a moment before she nodded her head and held out her hand. "Phoenix Black-Sutherland."

Dennis took her hand with a shy smile. "Dennis Creevey."

Ok, so being on the back of a flying hippogriff had been cool! At least once he resettled himself so he'd been comfortable because being throw up there by his big friend was not the best way to find a comfortable seat. And not being able to hold on, now that was a challenge until he figured out to use his legs. Flying Buckbeak wasn't as much fun as being on a broom, but that was a thrill in a half because he was always in control of the broom (unless some dark lord was trying to kill him). Too bad Malfoy had ruined the class. Harry had been excited about what they could possibly learn about next since this class had been fun, until Malfoy had nearly been killed.

Hermione had been going on about how Hippogriffs were beyond their level as they were at. She thought they should be studying only things with a two of lower Ministry of Magic danger classification according to_ Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander. Of course the _Monster Book of Monsters_ (which was now lying peacefully in his bag) did not list the creature classifications. According to what she'd read Hippogriffs were least a level four on a scale of 1 to 5 with five being the most dangerous, and they required an expert to train. Hermione was complaining that they should have started with the lesser creatures like auguries or pixies. Things that Hagrid couldn't describe as 'misunderstood beasties'.

Harry planned to go down and explain to Hagrid that it hadn't been his fault, that he'd heard Hagrid say clearly not to insult the creatures and Malfoy had ignored him on purpose. Hermione had agreed to go and Ron was nodding that he'd tag along.

Harry hadn't seen Phoenix since lunch and he was still feeling guilty over it. Hermione told him that while Phoenix's trunk had been moved out of her dorm when she put her books away for dinner, her bed was still in the room. Hermione had met with Lavender and Parvati and they had agreed that Phoenix would be welcome at any time. They had even stopped by and loudly said so while glaring down at the four female Gryffindor first years. The entire house had heard about what had happened in Snape's class. Sixty points was quite a bit for a single incident but Phoenix herself hadn't lost a single point during the entire class. Many of the upper years were planning to pull her aside and ask her secret for getting along with the most feared professor in Hogwarts.

Harry knew how she and her mother had planned for her to treat Snape. Althea had been adamant that the proper decorum with Snape would put him off balance and could only make Phoenix look good. Snape only respected people who understood the time and effort it required to become a potion master. Unlike most masteries, where a specific level of competency was the only requirement, a potion master had to pass a certification much like the old style apprentice master graduation and a panel of other masters. A single complaint by the examination masters could ruin the chances of gaining the potion mastery. Acting the part of an apprentice worked for Phoenix, Harry hoped it would work for him tomorrow.

Dinner was well underway when Phoenix walked in with both Percy and Penelope Clearwater. Phoenix took Penelope's hand and gave her a formal curtsy and did the same for Percy. Penelope looked surprised but Percy looked pleased beyond belief. He escorted the now smiling Phoenix over to Harry and his friends. "If they try to break in or start anything else let me know and I'll see to it that they are punished." He said much less pompously then he normally sounded. He acknowledged his siblings but moved further down to sit with his classmates.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I've never seen Percy act so… normal, EVER." Ron said.

Phoenix grabbed some food and placed it on her plate happily. "I asked him if he could recommend someone who could charm my trunk and bed hangings to repel attackers."

"And he-"

"Agreed to help you?" Asked the Weasley twins. Phoenix never bothered to try and figure out who was who. She bet neither of them was sure either.

Phoenix nodded. "Of course, Uncle Moo-, I mean Professor Lupin suggested a few spells that are beyond my skills right now. Once he verified with the professor that he'd made the recommendations he was very accommodating and asked his friend to come into the dorm and set up the minor wards and protection spells."

"Are you worried about the others then?" Hermione asked. "Because if you are your bed from last night is still in the dorm and my roommates and I don't mind at all if you want to stay with us."

"Thank you Hermione. I really don't know what I would have done without you and your friends last night." She said sincerely.

Harry nodded his own thanks. "She's the best friend anyone can ever ask for." He said as he winked at Hermione, who blushed at the praise.

"Your welcome." She mumbled.

"We're going to go down and visit Hagrid after dinner. He's sure to be feeling down after what happened this afternoon." Harry quickly filled her in on what had happened. And she agreed to follow them down.

The four arrived at the hut together and Hagrid invited the group to come inside. He seemed very upset and Harry and his friends tried to cheer him up. Phoenix stayed silent and watched out the windows. She'd actually forgotten how close to the wards the gamekeepers hut was. She shivered as the dementors came closer to the wards. She could almost feel them calling for her blood. Hagrid must have come to the same conclusion because he suddenly started to bellow about not coming to see him after dark again and to certainly not bring the Black girl with them unless they wanted Phoenix to die.

"Dumbledore said he told yea to stay in the castle at night. You should have listened to him." Hagrid rounded on her.

Phoenix nodded. "I forgot."

"Just don't be letting it happen again, either of yea!" He said pointing at both Harry and Phoenix.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this one centered on Phoenix so much but Harry's day was much the same as in the original book.


	5. PoA Chapter 4

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © and tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 4 – Contracts and Boggarts

The next morning found the group of friends including a shy Neville entering the great hall together. It was a good thing to because the entire hall was dead silent as the group entered, reminding Harry of the reactions the students had to him the year before when everyone thought he was the Heir of Slytherin. As a group they settled down at the end of the Gryffindor table and began to eat their breakfast.

"Why is it that the students around here feel like they have the right to be rude all the time?" Ginny asked loudly

Phoenix snorted. "No offence to the rest of you," she said indicating to her friend, "but the English system is very medieval in its thinking and teaching. Manners don't seem to be something that is taught much."

Harry chuckled. "I noticed that too. Even my muggle guardians have more manners than most of the witches and wizards I've met since coming to the wizarding world."

Neville even piped up with, "It is supposed to be part of the pureblood traditions to teach etiquette and manners but the immature children seem to forget them the moment they walk through the doors of Hogwarts."

"Not to mention they never seem to use logic and apply it to anything they read. You can't believe everything you read." Hermione said. This last statement had all her friends turning to her in surprise. Hermione however hadn't even looked up from her book that she was reading but the smirk on her face said she was aware of what they were doing.

"But you can recite everything you have ever read!" Ron said, unbelieving.

Hermione finally looked up. "Yes I can, but that does not mean I have not been able to apply logic and reason whether the author knew what they were even talking about."

Ginny rolled her eyes and chuckled with Phoenix as the two were actually watching the surrounding students. Many of the people around them either looked thoughtful or pretending not pay attention to them at all.

They had spent some time the night before reviewing what they had covered in class and what they hoped to achieve. Ginny's main problem from first year revolved around memorization because large portions of her memory were missing. Reviewing potions was more like teaching for Phoenix and she had told Ginny that she would be willing to help her on weekends where they could also practice the potions before she went into the classroom. During the week they had planned to help one another with their homework. Dennis Creevey had asked if he could join them and Ginny and Phoenix had given him a temporary hesitant yes for during the weekday study sessions.

Ginny and Phoenix had made some progress towards becoming good friends. Phoenix had picked up on the jealousy Ginny had about her relationship with Harry. Phoenix had also told Ginny she wouldn't put up with it, but she did want to be friends. Ginny explained about having a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived and then being saved by him last year had made the fairy tale seem even more real. Phoenix hated to be the one to break it to her but she told her Harry hadn't even remembered her name until Ron had told him just before he'd gone into the chamber. Ginny had been heartbroken, but Phoenix had also managed to tell her in a way that had not made it seem like she thought Ginny was stupid to like an imaginary character, which is what Phoenix thought the Boy-Who-Lived was, especially after getting to know Harry so well.

The Gryffindor girls had had trouble the night before. Not only were they given a detention for kicking her out of the dorms the night before by Professor McGonagall, but they had tried to move her trunk again. Phoenix wasn't sure where Romilda Vane had been planning to move it to, but the resulting shock and the permanent sticking charm made sure the trunk stayed exactly where Phoenix had left it. Romilda's hair now had a bushy appearance that made Hermione's look smooth and straight. They had yet to make an appearance at breakfast.

Mail began to arrive. Owls seemed to appear before each of the group and even Harry got a letter, which surprised him greatly. "Who would be writing to me?" Harry wondered.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "Three guess." She said sarcastically.

Harry opened the letter and nearly dropped it in shock. "She's my magical guardian?" He said clearly surprised.

Hermione grabbed his letter and looked it over. "So it would seem." She said. "It says here that Black was still on file as your legal magical guardian and the Ministry agreed that since she was your godmother that she had the right to take over for him since he is a wanted criminal."

"And she signed my permission slip." Harry said in awe. He was flabbergasted that Althea had managed to do all this without his knowledge.

Phoenix laughed at the happy expression of wonder on his face. "Mum wasn't sure about getting the right to be your magical guardian while you were in the magical world. But it was one of the things nobody had thought to change when dad was sentenced. Normally all this type of paperwork and other things like the family vault access is transferred during trial preparations."

"So this means that Black really didn't get a trial?" Ron asked.

Hermione nodded. "It would seem so. Everything that revolves around his legal status seems to be tied up in legal knots at the moment."

Phoenix sighed. "As of right now Black is still the head of the Black family because he has not been convicted of a crime, just sentenced. That means he can walk into Gringotts and walk out with the whole vault full of magical items, gold and books. And let me tell you the Blacks were known for being as dark as their name implies." She explained to the group. They looked somewhat surprised and disgusted by the news.

"He could fund a whole new war with the kind of money that the Black Family is rumored to have." Ron shuddered.

"Or bribe his way out of a conviction. Which is most likely why he was never placed on trial to begin with." Neville sighed. "Bribery is how most of the Death Eaters got off. It was only the crazy ones that were caught." He said as he picked at his food.

"I'm sorry for what my cousin did to your family." Phoenix said. "I don't know if it will make you feel better but if mum wins the right for me to take over the head of house duties I plan to disown her and claim a debt of honor to the Longbottom family."

Neville looked up surprised but his eyes betrayed his own feelings of grief and acceptance. Phoenix finally felt like she and Neville might have a chance at becoming friends. She'd had a feeling her cousin Bellatrix was the cause of his shying away from her so far. She was glad he seemed open to the old forms of apology. Their friends turned to Neville with some curiosity but he ducked his head down, avoiding their gazes. Even Ron realized he didn't want to be questioned about the subject.

Phoenix turned back to Harry. "Since I can't go to Hogsmeade I expect you to pick up the things I want from the stores there." She smirked.

"Whatever you want, I'll get you." He grinned. "I honestly thought there would be no chance I could go after the way I left the Dursleys."

As Defense Against the Dark Arts was Harry's first class that day he left his friends early and asked Ron to grab his books for him so he'd have a chance to talk to Professor Lupin on his own. Phoenix had slipped just enough last night that he knew Lupin was Uncle Moony.

When Harry entered the classroom it seemed empty. "Professor?" Harry called out. It took a moment but Harry could hear noise from the office above the classroom. Lupin came out and looked down at the student looking up at him with a huge smile. "Hi Uncle Moony!" Harry called to him.

Lupin couldn't help the large grin that broke out on his face and he quickly came down the stairs. "Merlin it's good to see you Harry." He said before he took the boy into a firm hug. "I never thought I'd hear you call me that again."

Harry couldn't help the smile on his face. "Althea said that's what I'd called you when you visited my family. I hope you don't mind."

Lupin shook his head. "Just not in public. I have to maintain a level of professionalism, and Albus didn't want me to disclose our relationship unless you came to me first."

Harry rolled his eyes. "If history serves as a precedent you'd have to survive an attempt on my life or mind before you could be fired." He smirked.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "I was warned the position was cursed, it has been since before I was a student but I wasn't aware you were the curse's current enforcer." He also had an evil looking grin on his face.

Harry sighed dramatically. "In first year I was saving the Philosopher's stone from the possessed professor and in second year the teacher used a memory charm that backfired and wiped his life from his mind."

Lupin chuckled. "I'd be interested in hearing about your life, if you're willing to meet with me that is." He said with a little hesitation.

Harry's smile widened a little more. "I'd like that very much. Althea and Phoenix have told me quite a bit about my mother but I haven't had a chance to learn much about dad, except from Snape." He said as his grin faded a little.

Remus snorted. "I can just imagine what Snape has had to say about your father." The other students began to show up and they made plans to meet during the weekend.

The class was quite scary at first until Neville had changed Snape into a cross-dresser with bad fashion sense. After that the majority of the class got a chance to face the boggart. When it was Harry's turn Lupin stepped in front of him and the boggart changed into an orb that Lupin quickly banished back into the wardrobe at the front of the classroom. Lupin handed out a score of points to the students before dismissing them.

Harry stayed back. He waved his friends ahead and waited for everyone to leave."Professor?"

Lupin looked up at him and smiled. "Yes Harry?"

"Why didn't you let me-" Harry asked slightly annoyed. While he wasn't sure how to make a dementor funny he'd have liked a chance to try.

"I honestly don't think having Lord Voldemort appear in a room full of children was a good idea Harry." Lupin explained sadly.

Harry honestly looked confused. "Why would Lord Voldemort appear?"

"You're not afraid of him?" Lupin asked, he was completely taken aback.

Harry shook his head. "I've defeated him three times already. I am more afraid of something that I have no idea how to fight that is looking to kill both me and Phoenix."

"Dementors." Remus said in surprise as he lowered himself into his chair. Harry nodded. "Yes I can see why that would scare you much more than Lord Voldemort."

"I don't suppose there is a way to defeat them?" Harry asked.

Remus sighed. "Not really, they can be pushed away as you saw that night, but the Patronus charm is above the NEWT level spell. I can't even cast a fully corporal guardian."

Harry's shoulders slumped forward in defeat. "So I guess there is nothing I can do to protect us."

Remus shook his head. "Not yet." He said sadly. "Maybe one day, once you have had time to develop a stronger magical core." Harry nodded once more before he said goodbye and headed down to his potions class.

The potions class had been going pretty well until Malfoy sauntered in about half way through the class. It had been one of the hardest chores of Harry's life treating Snape with the respect that Althea had suggested. When Snape began demanding he prepare Malfoy's ingredients Harry had hoped he'd have time to complete his own potion since he had run through it the night before mentally. Now he understood why Phoenix and Althea had said to never do it for the first time in the lab. He still felt the need to double check how to prep some ingredients and what order to place them in the cauldron. Now he had the added step of preparing additional ingredients that was throwing his planned actions out the window. There was also the added frustration of ignoring Malfoy's comments about Black.

"If it was me I wouldn't be sitting in the castle waiting for him to come here. I'd be out looking for him." Malfoy had said with a nasty looking smirk.

Harry held Ron back. "He's not worth it Ron." He said with a shake of his head.

"Besides if Black was really a Death Eater he'd be crowing about how he'd be coming to kill Harry." Hermione said from behind them as she once more grabbed Neville's hand and stopped him from adding too much dandelion root.

Harry turned and looked at her. Her words made Harry think about Malfoy's taunts. The blonde twit was trying to enrage him enough to want to make him leave the castle. Because he wasn't paying attention he missed the rest of the altercation and missed Ron calling Malfoy a Death Eater spawn and hitting the blonde brat in his 'wounded' shoulder.

"My father is going to get the Oaf fired and that creature destroyed." Malfoy smirked.

Harry shook his head. "Not if I testify as a Scion that you're injuries are your own fault." He said absently as he continued to work on his potion, lost in his own thoughts.

"What would you know about Scion's and such. You're no better than a mudblood." Malfoy scowled.

Harry shrugged. "Why don't you and your father use up that influence at the Ministry that you're bragging about and see how much I know about my abilities as the Scion of the House of Potter."

Malfoy became awful silent for the remained of the class, but if Harry had looked up he would have noticed a thoughtful potion's master watching him with interest.

Phoenix was much happier today. Herbology was a simple class as it was just about how to take care of the planets that one got potions ingredients from. It was more in-depth than she was used to dealing with when gathering ingredients but it was still a matter of learning to identify the plant (which she knew already) and then learning the trick to making the plant happy. She'd teamed up with Orla and Dennis immediately and the three had gotten all the steps right and their fluxweed plants were looking perky, which at this time of the moon cycle was a very good thing. Orla was something a genius when it came to plants. The more interesting ones had seemed to like her attention, even though they were to be tended to by the fifth years.

In Charms she'd run into a bit of a brick wall. Unlike Transfiguration in which visualization was the key to making the spell work, Charms required mental discipline and imagination. The discipline wasn't the problem. Phoenix had spent so much time in the company of structured magic users like potion masters and such that imaginative magic was almost a foreign idea. This first class was about proper care of wands and proper handling but at the end they were trying a simple color spray charm that would color the parchment in front of them with the color sparks shooting from their wands.

Dennis had no problems at all with the charm and was splashing color after color all over his parchment. Phoenix sighed with frustration and by the end of class had not managed to get a single spark. Unlike Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick had not assigned any homework for those that hadn't managed it but instead suggested some additional practice.

"I'll help you tonight if you want." Dennis offered as they walked towards the great hall for lunch.

Phoenix was about to respond when the first year girls crowed around them. Romilda was leading the group. "What are you doing be friendly with the murder's spawn." She spat at Dennis. "She's evil."

One of the other girls pulled him away from Phoenix's side. "She should have been a Slytherin. She must have tricked the hat into putting her in our house."

Phoenix crossed her arms and projected an image of bored annoyance, even though inside she was shaking with both anger and fear since she was outnumbered four to one, not including Dennis. "Just what is your problem Vane?"

The young witch glared at Phoenix with undisguised hatred. "How dare you even talk to him!" The girl screamed at her lifting her wand. "He is a hero and you are nothing but the spawn of the right hand of You-Know-Who!" The rest of her followers raised their wands together, releasing Dennis.

He stepped in front of her and spread his hands as if to shield her. "If you're going to curse her you'll have to curse me too." He said with his chin raised bravely.

Phoenix appreciated the gesture but the girls were first years who couldn't even do a tickling charm yet. She made sure her wand was put away since the altercation seemed to be attracting a crowd, it was only a matter of time before a teacher or prefect broke it up. "So let me get this straight." Phoenix said getting everyone's attention. "You think you have the right to punish me because my brother wants to talk to me?"

"HARRY POTTER IS NOT YOUR BROTHER!" Romilda screeched.

Phoenix was beginning to enjoy the confrontation now. "Really because if you ask him I'll bet he'll say he is." She smirked confidently. "Besides who are you to tell him who he can and can't talk to?"

"She's got a marriage contract pending with him." One of the girls said arrogantly.

Phoenix snorted. "So? I bet half the pureblood wizarding world female population under the age of fifteen does too. What's your point?"

"Please tell me you're joking!" A male voice was heard from behind the Gryffindor girls, it was filled with utter horror.

Only minutes before in the corridor coming from the potions classroom the third year Gryffindors were grateful to get out of the dungeons and on their way to lunch in the great hall. "I can't believe that little arrogant priss gets away with that kind of behavior." Lavender fumed. "It is so unfair."

"No one will ever accuse Snape of being fair Lav." Parvati snarled.

"Look up the word bias in the dictionary and you'll see his picture." Agreed Dean.

"What's a dictionary?" Ron asked. The rest of the Gryffindors snickered as Hermione began her normal explanations of all things muggle when the growing crowd of students caught Harry's attention. He began to drift towards the scene. He was beginning to hear the words of the fight when the one girl began to screech about him. Suddenly the crowd around him started to part as he began to push his way through.

As he broke through the crowd behind the four first year girls he heard the bit about the marriage contracts and Phoenix's statement about the number of likely marriage contracts. His voice escaped him before he was aware he was even saying anything. "Please tell me you're joking!"

Phoenix laughed. "Of course not, all part in parcel of being the wizarding world savior." She smirked at him.

Harry shook his head trying to wake from the disturbing dream. "That is just-"

"Barbaric?" Hermione asked, slightly amused by the situation.

Harry still couldn't shake the horror the idea placed in him off enough to even consider joking about it. Phoenix took pity on him. "You are not obligated to accept any of them."

The relief Harry felt at those words made him almost feel faint. "Thank Merlin! I don't even want to think about marriage for quite some time thank you very much." He turned his attention to the group of girls who had been threatening Phoenix and his expression turned angry. "As for the group of you I've had enough of you going after my sister." He snarled at them causing the group to gasp and back away from him. "What do you think gives you the right to treat her like that?"

Romilda stood up in front of her friends. "You are too good for the likes of that trashy-"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Harry yelled at her, cutting her off. "I will choose who I wish to associate myself with. Do you understand me?"

Romilda stood there completely surprised by Harry's reaction. "But… but you're supposed to marry me." She whimpered.

Harry gave her a looked of complete revulsion. "I would rather marry Voldemort."

Harry didn't know or care why everyone about him gasped or screamed at his use of Voldemort's name. The little brat who seemed to be the ringleader of his sister's tormentors looked particularity shocked.

"You can't mean that!" She shrieked.

Harry glared at her. "You are the most loathsome spiteful witch I have met to date and if I ever see you tormenting anyone I care about ever again I will make you pay. Do I make myself clear?" He roared at her.

Romilda burst into tears and screamed uncontrollably, falling to her knees. "No, this isn't happening." She sobbed.

"You had better take her to the hospital wing." Hermione suggested coldly to the girl's friends.

The other girls looked reluctant to help until Harry turned his disgusted glare at them. "My warning goes for the rest of you as well." He snarled.

Understanding that they were in serious jeopardy of being hexed if they didn't get their wailing friend out of the same hallway as Harry Potter, they scrambled to pick up their friend and drag her kicking and screaming away from the crowd.

Suggesting that he'd rather marry Voldemort had been really funny to Phoenix. Romilda had been utterly humiliated. Harry was still switching between seething at the wicked little brat's audacity to assume that he'd cater to her every whim and shivering at the thought of the amount of marriage contracts Gringotts was likely holding for him once he reached his majority. Phoenix explained how it was a normal practice even thirty years ago for arranged marriages to be in place before children even entered Hogwarts.

"Witches often tailored their education to what they would be expected to do once they left Hogwarts." Neville explained to Hermione later in the common room when she had asked question about the situation.

"What about muggleborns?" She asked. "Are they ever offered contracts?"

Neville nodded. "Sometimes, it would depend on how traditional the family was."

"Harry's mother was offered a contract and she accepted it, but Uncle James didn't ask for it until Aunt Lily was of age at to accept or reject it on her own terms."

"Terms?" Hermione asked before Harry had a chance to.

Neville nodded. "Marriage contracts are a form of magical contract and need to be negotiated before they are accepted. For example, if I want my wife to be happy and do whatever type of work made her happy then I wouldn't place a restriction on her 'acceptable forms of employment'."

"It's that bad?" Harry asked still slightly overwhelmed.

"Well basically if you want to restrict the partner than the amendment has to be added, otherwise it just a contract that states you intent to be married within five years, that's a standard contract. But old families have extra protection measures."

"In the Black family there is an amendment that the head of house can't be striped without conviction of a crime and it can be reinstated if a pardon is granted." Phoenix said. "And a head of house can cancel the contract if the 'signee' ever brings shame on the house of Black."

Neville nodded. "Pretty standard stuff for all old families. Oh and in my family a trust would be created for my wife if I were to pass away before her but the majority of my inheritance would go to any surviving children once they reach their majority."

"Ok I think I understand all this stuff now." Harry said as his head began to throb from the stress the situation was causing. "How do I get rid of these things?"

Phoenix grinned. "That's easy. You contact our solicitor and tell him to reject any contracts that were offered after your parent's death."

"We have a solicitor?" Harry asked surprised.

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah, how else do you think mum has been able to become your magical guardian? I have a letter from mum that says to contact him if we have any legal concerns while we are here."

"Can she accept any of the contracts on Harry's behalf?" Ginny asked, her voice squeaking slightly with panic.

Phoenix shook her head. "If she was both his muggle and magical guardian she would still need to get Harry's permission to accept since it requires his approval as the Head of the House of Potter."

"What would happen if he ignored them?" Hermione asked.

Neville shrugged. "They expire if the offered daughter gets engaged, or Harry gets married."

"So I could just ignore them entirely?" Harry asked, suddenly very relieved.

"I plan to." Neville said shyly for the first time since the topic came up.

Ginny and Phoenix left to go for a walk just before it got dark. The two girls had been laughing about poor Harry's predicament. "I didn't know half that stuff about old Pureblood traditions that you and Neville both seem to know." Ginny admitted as they stopped by the large tree by the lake's edge.

"Well the House of Longbottom and Black are both old houses and because we will become the heads of those houses were are expected to know these things." Phoenix said with a shrug. "Mum knows all this stuff and I was expected to learn it."

"But Harry seems clueless about most of it. Same as Ron and I." Ginny pressed.

"I bet if you were to talk to your oldest two brothers they know the rules." Phoenix said. "In fact I know for a fact that Percy does, that's why he seems to like me, because I preformed the old rituals of respect with him."

"Like you did with Snape?" Ginny questioned. She had been very surprised that Phoenix hadn't had her head bitten off by Snape, in part because she was close to Harry and Snape seemed to hate Harry.

"Yeah. But with Snape it was more habit than anything. Mum always had other masters over and any time I was in the lab with any of them I treated them the same way."

They fell silent for a few minutes as they enjoyed the darkening sunset. Ginny was pulled from her thoughts as Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, walked past them towards the forbidden forest. "Where does that cat think its going?"

Phoenix shook her head. "I have no idea. I'll go grab him. Why don't you go and get Hermione and let her know he got out of the castle." She got up and shook her robe to shake off the bits of twigs and grass that was attached itself to her backside.

Ginny nodded and headed inside while Phoenix turned to follow the cat. "Crookshanks what do you think you're doing out here?" She called out to the half kneazle. The cat turned and looked at her before he looked back towards the forest and continued walking. "Get back here." She called as she began to chase after the stubborn animal.

She had gotten close enough to it that she reached to scoop it up when she felt the other animal's presence. She looked up in time to seem a black grim dog staring at her. Neither of them moved. Phoenix had time to take in the matted fur, the starved look and the huge grey eyes before the dog seemed to blink and he slowly began to back away, whimpering and shaking its head.

"I won't hurt you." She called out softly to it. The dog stopped and lay very still, watching her very carefully. "I honestly won't." The dog must have liked her voice because he stopped whimpering and put his paw on his muzzle. "Oh you poor thing." She sighed as she inched towards him, the dog seemed tense but allowed her to reach forward and pet its head softly. "Doesn't Hagrid ever feed you?"

The dog once again whimpered and she sighed once again. "I'll go get you something. Let me just return my friend's cat to her first ok?" She carefully picked up the fussy cat and backed away smiling at the poor half starved creature. She walked back towards the castle in time to see Harry and Hermione returning with Ginny. "Here you are Hermione.

"I can't believe he got outside!" Hermione huffed. "I was sure I had locked him in the dorm, with the way Ron is going on and on about his rat you'd think he's never seen a cat around the burrow before."

Phoenix managed to escape the group as they headed back up and sneaked down to where the kitchens were suppose to be. "Can I have an elf attend me?" She called out. I moment later a house elf open a portrait of some fruit several feet away.

"Can we's help you miss?" The little elf said softly.

Phoenix smiled kindly. "I am in need of a basket of rare cooked meat please, enough to feed a hungry dog. Hagrid forgot to feed him."

The elf did a quick curtsy and returned a few minutes later with a small basket of meat and a few pastries. "If mistress just leaves the basket by her bed we's will be able to take care of it."

Phoenix just nodded and turned to go bring the basket of food to the poor dog. It was dark by the time she got outside and she took a deep breath before heading in the direction she had left the dog. Only a few minutes later she could make out his dark coat and his whimper. She quickly unpacked the food and left it for him. "If Hagrid forgets to feed you again I'll see what I can do about getting you some more, alright boy?" She said happily as she petted his head. The dog gratefully licked her hand and face before he dove at the food. She watched for a few moments before the cold made her shiver. "I have to go back inside now. I'll see you soon." She called as she turned and ran towards the safety of the castle taking the rest of the basket with her but not realizing that she had left two pastries behind.

The dog watched her leave and once he finished the meat, he gratefully took the two pastries in his mouth and retreated to the safety of Hagrid's shed and the hidey hole he'd dug underneath it.

Harry had wondered where Phoenix had gone to when they got to the entrance of Gryffindor tower only to find she hadn't followed them. Hermione had gone upstairs to put Crookshanks away again and to bring a few books down so she could continue to study. Harry sat down on the couch in front of the fire and just relaxed for the first time that day.

The Scion lessons that Althea had started him on had made him aware that he was more than just The-Boy-Who-Lived in the wizarding world, but in a special but normal kind of way. There were at least three other Scions at Hogwarts that he was aware of, and he assumed there had to be more. The lack of knowledge about who he was concerned him. If Althea hadn't promised to teach him about Pureblood customs so he'd be able to understand his rights when he came of age he'd be pretty scare right now. Neville was turning out to be a goldmine of information and Hermione seemed to be really quick to figure out the right questions to ask. Comparing Neville and Ron's knowledge of the wizarding world in general was like comparing the aristocracy to the middle class. Ron was a good source for everyday things, but he took a lot of his world for granted, much like Harry himself did of the muggle world, and Ron wasn't able to explain the whys and how things were the way they were. Neville on the other hand seemed to know the rules of conduct and why they were important.

He was pulled out of his pondering when he saw Phoenix slip into the room moments before curfew. "Just in time." He said as she sat down beside him.

"Yeah I ran into Hagrid's dog when I was looking for Crookshanks. The poor thing was hungry so I fed him." She explained.

"Fang is always whining for food." Harry chuckled.

Phoenix gave him a disgusted look. "That dog looked half starved."

Harry nodded. "His bowl is always full of food whenever we have visited him."

"But where was Fang when we were there to visit the other night?" She asked. "He wasn't in the cabin."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe Hagrid had let him out to do his business."

She sighed. "Or maybe he forgot to feed him because he was upset." She turned sorrowful eyes to Harry. "Fang attacked the food I brought like he hadn't eaten in days Harry."

Harry comforted her. "Maybe Hagrid did forget, he thinks he almost killed a student."

Phoenix accepted his explanation. "I just hope he starts to take care of that dog, otherwise I'm going to see to it that he gets a good home."

"Fang's well loved Phoenix." Harry said reassuringly. "I'm sure it's some misunderstanding. I'll talk to Hagrid during my next Creatures class, ok." Phoenix accepted his assurance. She got up and asked Ginny and Dennis if they wanted to play exploding snap before going to bed. They included Dennis's older brother after he apologized for the scene he started in the great hall. Phoenix forgave him and they played happily together until long after her roommates had gone up for the night.

Harry on the other hand was slightly more concerned than he'd let on about Fang's condition. If Hagrid was upset enough that he wasn't feeding his 'beasties' then something terrible must be going on for his friend. Malfoy's boasting in potions didn't seem like harmless bragging now. "Hey Neville." He called out.

"Yeah Harry?"

"Do you happen to have a book with the rights and responsibilities of a Scion?" He asked.

Neville shook his head. "Not with me, but I can send a letter to my Gran and ask her to get you one."

Harry gave him a grim looking smile. "I would really appreciate that Neville. Thanks."

Neville gave a concerned look. "Worried about Malfoy?"

Harry nodded. "I am tired of not knowing enough about things that end up being important. Hermione can't be expected to do all my thinking and research for me."

Neville nodded. "I'll send it in the morning."

Harry smiled gratefully. "Hedwig seems to be a regular in the mornings at breakfast lately. We can send it with her then." Neville nodded and they both climbed into their bed to sleep. Harry hoped that he could learn what he needed to know before he let his very first friend in the wizarding world down.

* * *

A/N: The chapter is short but the chapter in the book was short too. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was harder than the others :)


	6. PoA Chapter 5

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © and tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 5 – In the time before Halloween

The 'Daily Prophet' ran headlines for over a week about Phoenix and her relationship to Sirius Black. There had been a large amount of howlers that were re-directed to the headmaster's office for Phoenix, as well as Dumbledore and his staff for allowing the girl to be accepted in the first place (Parental howlers were acceptable, but not from strangers). There were also a great many people demanding that Phoenix be removed from Hogwarts for the safety of the children because surely having Harry Potter and Black's daughter at Hogwarts would draw him in. There were further articles that detailed how close Harry and Phoenix were. Details such as the fact that he called her his sister seemed to scare a great many people into thinking Phoenix was part of some scheme to kill Harry for her father.

Harry was in a towering rage one morning at breakfast at the accusation that she was trying to kill him for Sirius, but Phoenix had stopped his rage from becoming a violent explosion by showing him her letter to her mother. He'd just nodded and said it had better work or he'd start hexing anybody who talked to the press about them again. Two days later all speculation about Phoenix's motives for attending Hogwarts stopped and a small apology was printed for slandering a child. Although the speculations about what Black might do now that it was public knowledge did not stop. But Harry and Phoenix turned their attention to a project closer to home.

Phoenix's concern over Fang seemed to well founded. When Harry saw the cowardly boarhound during his next 'care of magical creatures' class, he too grew concerned over his friend's depression and the lack of care he was giving his pet.

Throughout September and midway through October the class had been dreadful boring. Hagrid did not look to be feeding himself much lately either. Phoenix had said she'd made feeding arrangements for the dog with the Hogwarts House Elves and soon after Fang seemed to be healthier and gaining weight. Harry wasn't sure what was a healthy weight for Fang's breed was, but he figured if the dog's ribs weren't sticking out anymore, that had to be a good thing.

Phoenix knew that Hagrid had more animals than just his one dog, and she was concerned about all his animals' welfare. She'd asked the house elf to ensure that at least one of them oversaw the feeding of _all_ the animals Hagrid had to care for until he began to feed them all properly himself. The elves were happy to have extra chores to do, although very few of them could help since it seemed Hagrid had a whole herd of invisible animals, but they promised to work it out. Phoenix couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the poor invisible animals starving because Hagrid was upset about a hippogriff hurting her stupid cousin. Draco had certainly deserved it as far as Harry and all their friends were concerned. Still her concern for the large black grim like dog living under Hagrid's cabin persisted even after Harry said he thought Fang was looking healthier than ever.

Classes were going well for Harry and his friends. Snape had agreed to allow Phoenix to test out of the class. Her marks seemed to surprise him but he was happy with one less Gryffindor in his class. Harry's attitude adjustment had originally made Snape nastier for a time, but now he tended to ignore him, which Harry was more than happy with. Ron however couldn't maintain the level of restraint required and became a replacement target for Snape. Hermione was managing all her classes, though no one had put together how it was possible.

Phoenix was helping Neville and Ginny with potions on the weekends for about two hours and by late October had allowed Dennis Creevey into her 'class' too. Mostly she explained the theory behind the plants in the potions and what types of plants react badly with others for the recipe for that upcoming week. It would take at least three years to cover the material well enough for them to understand everything that could avoid an explosion or melted cauldron, but Phoenix made sure that she and Neville made that week's practical lesson recipe together so he could see each step. She also talked him through it the way her mother did when she was first learning. As a result Neville hadn't melted a cauldron yet, but he had not made a passable potion for Snape yet either. Neville's nervous terror around Snape was still too high for him to be able to concentrate in class.

Defense was easily the favorite class of all the students in every year, except the Slytherins. Lupin was a very hands-on style of teaching that everyone liked. Even the first years had practical lessons. It was Lupin who had helped Phoenix finally manage to make a connection between her visualization for transfiguration and her imagination required for charms so she could produce a successful charm spell, a week and a half behind everyone else in her class.

Quidditch season pulled Phoenix and Harry apart a little since Harry sent so much time at practice. She'd gone to see the first practice but had gotten bored and very cold in the setting September evening. Instead she went to visit with the black dog on the days when it wasn't too cold for a little while before spending time with her friends Ginny and Dennis.

After Harry's confrontation with Romilda the first year girls in Gryffindor pretended Phoenix didn't exist. The boys didn't seem to care much one way or the other, except Dennis who had sort of tagged along when the two girls would allow it. After his defense of Phoenix in the hallway Phoenix felt she could trust him and they got along exceptionally well, although his brother Colin still was annoying.

Harry still made time to spend with her, and she arranged her study time around his Quidditch schedule which was three times a week. After her first flying lesson Phoenix knew she'd never be a Quidditch player but she wasn't bad on a broom and enjoyed flying. Ginny had promised to coach her in the spring when flying time was easier to come by because Quidditch practices were over and first years were allowed their own brooms by then. Harry had offered to teach her too.

It wasn't until a week before Halloween there had been a Hogsmeade visit announced. Dumbledore had said at dinner that night that they would be very strict about the permission forms. His eyes had seemed to stay on Harry for longer than necessary. Phoenix reminded Harry to hand in a copy of the legal papers that pronounced Althea as his magical guardian when he handed in his permission slip.

At the end of his Transfiguration class when Professor McGonagall had asked for the forms she asked him to stay behind. "Harry, your form has to be signed by your guardians." She said sadly. "I am afraid I cannot accept this." She handed the form back to him.

Harry quietly took the legal documents out of his school bag. "I assure you Professor Althea Sutherland is my magical guardian." He handed the forms over her. She looked the papers over and her eyes widened. Clearly she had not been aware of this change in Harry's guardianship.

"When did this happen?" She exclaimed. "Albus assured me that you had no magical guardian beyond his as that of headmaster of the school, and we knew that the Dursleys had not signed the form."

Harry sighed, he was once again having his faith in Dumbledore shaken by Althea's correct predictions about the level of information Dumbledore seemed to be withholding from him. "Actually until September 1st, Sirius Black was still my legal magical guardian. Althea got the ministry to sign it over to her to protect me from Black." He said with great disappointment.

"On September 1st you say." The professor frowned. "The one day Albus is sure to be away from the Ministry."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "The ministry was rather surprised to find that the paperwork regarding my guardianship is messed up this badly. It turns out that the Dursleys had no legal right to me at all, they are not even my legal _muggle_ guardians." He stated purposefully and with a level of confidence the professor was unused to seeing in her young charge.

McGonagall winced and sighed. She clearly had out of date information and would have to look into this further. "Very well Mr. Potter. You have permission temporarily until I can verify this to attend the Hogsmeade trip, but I ask you to please stay within the main portion of the village and return before the sun begins to set."

Harry scowled at the suggestion that he was lying. "I don't know what games are being played with my life or by whom. But I thank you for your concern and understand the reason behind your requests. I promise I will try to honor them." Harry said respectfully, he turned to leave.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall called out, "I am sure you will be called into the Headmaster's office over this." She seemed to be picking her words carefully. "He is also concerned about your welfare."

Harry shook his head. "Professor, I can't be too sure of that lately. The more I learn about the things I should know by now according to my family traditions, the more I wonder why he is trying to keep me from learning about it."

McGonagall stiffened. "I am sure that is not the case Mr. Potter." She said with a disapproving tone. "The headmaster has taken several precautions in your case to ensure your safety."

Harry raised one of his eyebrows in a questioning manner. "Perhaps, but he lied to my godmother about the care I was to be given my family. That lie made sure I was not informed of my rights and responsibilities. The fact that I will never have to go back to the Dursleys is the best thing to have happened to me since meeting Althea." He said with a smile. He walked out of the classroom with an evil smirk. He knew that his conversation with his head of house would be repeated to the headmaster word for word. And Harry had no intention of meeting with the headmaster without the solicitor Althea hired.

At lunch Harry was subjected to another argument between Hermione and Ron over the fact that Crookshanks had once again tried to attack Scabbers. The fighting was getting really old and everyone was hoping to damn rat would have a heart attack and die or the bloody cat would just eat the damn thing. Harry had never been fond of the thing. All it did was sleep, eat and go to the bathroom, and once in a while it didn't ever wake up to do that! The disgusting thing was Ron was sleeping with it in his bed to protect it from the damn cat. How it was getting in the room Harry could only guess, but each of the boys was being extra careful about making sure the door was closed to avoid listening to Ron yell about the rat's safety.

Neville was waiting for him and the two sat a few seats down from Hermione and Ron so they could hear themselves think.

"How did it go?" Neville asked him. They had planned out the confrontation. Depending on the reactions of the headmaster and the deputy headmistress Harry would know if they were purposefully manipulating him or if it was something else at play or at least that was what the plan was suppose to help them figure out. Harry did not really want to believe that Dumbledore was playing with his life, but Althea seemed pretty convinced. She had some very good arguments for it.

Neville was an objective opinion. He liked Dumbledore, but his Gran didn't trust him after what happened to Neville's family. Neville blamed the four death Eaters that had tried to kill his family, not Dumbledore whom his parents had been working for. The same could not be said for his Gran who blamed him for playing God with the lives of the people who followed him.

Harry wasn't sure about the outcome of his conversation with McGonagall and that showed on his face. "She seemed more surprised that I was upset and assertive than alarmed about me breaking away from their control."

Neville nodded. "That's good right?"

Harry again shrugged. "I'm not sure this was such a good idea." He said poking at his lunch. "I'm not sure what I'm doing. This political stuff seems pretty dodgy to me." Harry stared down into his goblet wondering why a thirteen year old boy had to worry about such things. "What if Althea is wrong and Dumbledore is just trying to make sure that I'm safe, but he doesn't know how badly my aunt and uncle are about magic?"

"How bad are they?" Neville asked slowly. He was afraid Harry would clamp down and not continue talking to him.

Harry kept playing with his food for several long minutes before he finally put his fork down and said very softly so only Neville could hear. "The muggle equivalent to Malfoy, only without the violence." He said thinking of poor Dobby whom he'd saved last year only for Harry to be forced to return to his own family after saving the school for a second year in a row. You'd think that saving people would have gotten me some time off for good behavior, he thought sarcastically.

Neville watched his face scrunch up with distaste. "Your not still upset about that grim in the tea leaves from Divination this morning, are you?" Neville asked.

Harry shook his head. "I think I saw one over the summer and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind." He explained, grateful to get off the topic of his family. "And I think I saw it out on the grounds the other night from the tower window."

Neville's eyes widened. "They couldn't have been the same one. Grims don't travel far from their graveyards."

"Graveyards?" Harry asked. The idea that they could predict death was a little freaky to think about.

Neville nodded sagely. "They are hardly ever more than five miles from a graveyard. I really don't think one would travel all the way down to Surrey and then back up here to Scotland."

Harry nodded. "Yeah I guess. And the one I saw the other night did look a lot healthier than the one in Surrey."

"From a distance wolfhounds look like Grims, maybe it was just a muggle dog in Surrey?" Neville suggested hopefully. Harry had been pretty on edge since the dog figure had shown up, and if Harry had been seeing such a dog it would explain why Harry wasn't shaking the old fraud's predictions off like he did all his other divination classes.

Harry nodded, feeling a little better. "Yeah, and the one I saw in Surrey was most likely a stray that was living on the streets, which is why it looked half dead." He gave Neville and genuine smile and clapped him on the back in thanks for relieving his mind.

It was two days before the headmaster wanted to meet with Harry. Luckily he'd been informed in the morning that Dumbledore wanted to see him after dinner which gave Harry and Phoenix time to send their two messages to make sure the solicitor would be there with him.

Just before the end of dinner Phoenix and Harry had excused themselves. Harry made his way very slowly up to the headmaster's office while Phoenix made her way to the front door of the castle. She met Mr. Wincel Pickmen and a woman with her hood still up who was carrying the man's case. They took several shortcuts and reached the Headmaster's office just as the headmaster was leading Harry upstairs into his office to meet with himself, Snape and McGonagall. They two adults quickly followed while Phoenix ran for the common room.

Dumbledore was about to start his meeting with Harry when there was a knock on his door. "Come in." He called.

When the two entered Harry got up and warmly welcomed the man. "Mr. Pickmen, thanks for coming on such short notice."

Dumbledore was somewhat shocked. He'd hoped to get a chance to read Harry's thoughts and find out what the boy was thinking about and hopefully get him to agree to stay in the castle during the Hogsmeade visit. Dumbledore was well aware who Wincel Pickmen was. He was one of the finest solicitors that specialized in Pureblood family matters in the country.

Introductions were made all around and the woman finally lowered her hood. "Hello Dumbledore, McGonagall, Severus." She said in a smooth voice.

Snape was the first to respond. "Althea," he said with a respectful nod and the closest thing to a smile Harry had ever seen from the man. "It has been a long time." There seemed to be a bit of byplay between the adults in the room that Harry didn't quite understand. He was still watching his godmother exchange pleasantries as tea was served and everyone else was seated. Harry waited until Althea had taken a sip before he followed suit with his cup. One thing he'd learned from Althea over the summer was you could never be too careful when it came to potions.

"Well now that we are all comfortable perhaps we can discuss the matter of the Hogsmeade visit." Dumbledore said gravely, his normally twinkling eyes dull. He looked deeply concerned over the situation and Harry truly wondered if these games were worth the effort. Althea thought so but Harry wondered how much of this was revenge and how much was actual concern. Harry was curious enough to want to know but he really didn't want to alienate Dumbledore.

Althea gave Dumbledore a tight smile. "I have granted my godson the permission he requires. I do not see why I had to be recalled to England for this. Surely even you can read the legal parchment and understand I am well within my right to allow my ward to do so." She said with a cutting edge to her tone.

Dumbledore looked resigned to the confrontation that was brewing. "Unfortunately the ministry of magic has decided to have a patrol of dementors around the perimeter of the village, and patrolling the gates of Hogwarts that day to stop Black from entering the grounds or attacking the students, against my recommendations." He explained. "Due to the attraction the dementors have to Mr. Potter, and your daughter," Dumbledore said to Althea. "I was hoping to convince Mr. Potter that this visit might not be the best time for him to go into the village, perhaps by the next visit Black will have been caught and he could visit in safety then."

Harry was frowning. Dumbledore's explanation was a sound advice, and he made it sound like this meeting was about asking him to reconsider, not ordering him to. He didn't fancy a chance encounter with the evil creatures. Althea also seemed to be considering the argument, which seemed to make Dumbledore more relaxed. McGonagall seemed more concerned with watching Althea, however Snape was looking away from the group and scowling. Harry wondered why the man was even there since he hated Harry and wasn't his head of house or anything.

"How many others are having dementor issues?" Althea asked as she sipped her tea carefully. "I heard in detail about the train incident and the prolonged encounter for several students in the surround compartments, not to mention the attack on the first year boats." As she spoke her voice became so icy it sounded brittle.

McGonagall answered. "We have three other children whose parents have withdrawn their permission forms once the dementor patrols were made aware to their guardians. In your case I was not aware of the change of guardian status until Mr. Potter showed me the legal forms two days ago."

"We were not made aware of this change." Dumbledore said looking down his nose at the solicitor who until now had been watching passively. "Normally this type of thing would have been forwarded to us so we could contact you when a guardian is required to be as Ms. Sutherland lives outside the country."

Mr. Pickmen smiled. "The Ministry is still investigating the matter and as such did not want to advertise the change since to would make the ministry look rather deceitful in placing someone as important as Black in prison without a trial. Not to mention placing the Boy-Who-Lived in a home that was not approved by the parents, when a legally provided for guardian was; ready, willing and able to care for him."

Dumbledore stiffened but nodded. "I had hoped to not bring Harry's guardianship under scrutiny by more influential members of our society when he was placed with the Dursleys." He admitted. "The legal ramifications of giving Black a trial would have allowed him the same opportunities some other wealthy members used, and it was postponed. It was never meant to be forgotten." Dumbledore admitted.

"My main concern at the moment is concerning Harry's safety for this Hogsmeade visit." Dumbledore turned to Harry with deep concern. "I know Hogsmeade seems like a wonderful adventure after two years of being cooped up in the castle grounds for ten months in a year, but dementors cannot be trusted my boy."

Mr. Pickmen looked over to Harry. "In this one matter, I do believe he has a point Mr. Potter, Ms. Sutherland. My advice would be to agree for at least this one visit."

Althea sighed and nodded sadly to Harry as well. "I have to say I agree Harry. If you are not there than then Aurors can concentrate on looking for Black instead of keeping an eye open to be sure the dementors aren't misbehaving."

"What about the other students?" Harry asked. "Is it safe for them if the dementors are that dangerous?"

"The dementors used to work for the Dark Lord during the last war Potter." Snape said, slightly less antagonistic than how he spoke in class. "They most likely hold a fascination with you that does not extend to the others, with the exception of Ms. Black."

Althea looked extremely saddened by this fact. Harry finally broke the silence by asking, "Why do they want her so bad?"

"They were promised the soul of a Black when they were released from Azkaban to find him. She is a Black." Althea explained with an ice cold tone of fury.

Harry's choice was made. It wasn't an easy thing to do, but it was the right thing. "I'll stay in the castle to help protect Phoenix sir."

Althea suggested that she and Dumbledore have a nice long chat after Harry was dismissed. Dumbledore was not foolish enough to disagree and had dismissed McGonagall and Snape. Althea left the room to say goodbye to Harry privately at the bottom of the stairway leading up to the headmaster's office. "I am sorry Harry. I know how much you want to just do normal things." She said sadly as she placed her hand on his shoulder in support.

Harry nodded. "Thank you for trying, but Dumbledore is right. It's too dangerous with those creatures running around right now." He shivered at the memory of the encounter on the train. "If Uncle Moony hadn't been there…"

Althea hugged him tightly. "I am really glad he was there for both of you. I didn't think he was all that happy to meet your sister when we met on the platform. I guess I owe him a huge box of Honeyduke's best chocolate."

Harry blushed but accepted the hug knowing she needed it as much as he did. "He must have gotten over it because Phoenix was in his compartment when the Weasley, Hermione and I jumped on the train at the last minute. He was already asleep."

Althea smiled and nodded. She'd heard as much in her weekly letters from both her daughter and the quick notes Harry sent with them. She smiled as she ruffled his hair; he was getting better each time he wrote. A little more open and a little more confident. "I wish I could help you with them but I can't cast a patronus, otherwise I'd stay and find a way to teach you myself."

Harry shook his head. "Hermione found the spell in a book. It's a very difficult spell, above NEWT level. I'm just a third year." He mumbled.

Althea laughed. "A third year with a great deal of willpower." She lifted his chin with her fingers to force his blushing face to look at her. "Will and strength of character have a lot to do with spell casting, as does emotion and confidence." She told him lovingly. "Believe in yourself Harry, and you will accomplish everything you need to."

Harry had no choice but to believe her. Her eyes showed how much she believed in him and once more he felt warmth in his stomach and chest that was beginning to not feel so foreign to him. "Thanks Althea, for everything." He gave her another hug and promised to come see her for Christmas if not sooner. She laughed and said she'd try to be at his Quidditch game.

His friends weren't happy to find out he couldn't go to Hogsmeade with them, but they understood why it was impossible. No one questioned the dangers associated with dementors which solved many arguments. Even Ron in his grumbling was blaming the dementors and not the staff for their concern for his friend.

"I could always stay with you Harry and we could get our homework done early before the feast." Hermione offered.

"Halloween is on a Sunday Hermione." Phoenix reminded the girl. "Harry always has his homework done before Quidditch practice on Saturdays. Besides I was kinda hoping to have some time with my brother without you all being around." She pouted.

Hermione was surprised and looked a little hurt. "Oh, I didn't realize we were getting in the way."

Harry snorted at Phoenix's antics. "She's just teasing Hermione." He told her while Phoenix stuck her tongue out at him. "You are never in the way." He assured his best friend. "In fact of all my friends, I see you the least lately."

Hermione looked away. "I've been busy."

"You're taking too many classes." Ginny said with a pout of her own. Being twelve she figured it was still allowed once in a while. "You don't even like all your classes!"

"I'm enjoying them." She said defensively. "It's just a lot of reading each week."

Ron butted in changing the topic from homework, which he didn't have completed, to his favorite topic. "But now you're going to miss a chance to buy things in the village like candy and butterbeer!"

Phoenix shook her head. "No I'm not." She said. "That's the other reason Hermione has to go. I don't trust the rest of you to get me the things Harry and I need to survive until Christmas!"

Hermione smiled at her youngest friend. "Alright, just make sure you give me a complete list and I'll see what I can do."

"Great!" Phoenix said jumping for joy. "And while they're gone we can visit Uncle Moony Harry."

Harry nodded. "As long as he's not going to be chaperoning in the village."

Phoenix sighed and looked away sadly. "He won't be." He'll still be recovering from the full moon the night before, she thought as she walked away to make her shopping list for Hermione.

The morning of Halloween, Harry and Phoenix walked down with their group of third year friends down to the front hall. Phoenix made sure to give Hermione a list of things she wanted for both herself and Harry along with enough money to cover it all. After their friends left Phoenix and Harry walked back up to the common room. "I was wondering if you'd like to see some pictures of your parents?" Phoenix asked Harry.

Harry was surprised. "Ah yeah, sure. Hagrid gave me a photo album with pictures in them but I'd love to see more."

Phoenix smiled. "How about I get mine and I'll meet you in your dorm and we can compare them? And after we can go visit Uncle Moony."

Harry nodded. "That sounds like a great plan." He was glad they had made plans when he entered the common room and was almost attacked by Colin Creevey. Despite his brother being accepted by Phoenix and calming down, Colin still hadn't figured out that his hyper attitude freaked people out. Phoenix told him they had family things to do today and the boy backed off telling Harry he was always welcome to join them later.

Harry picked his album out of his trunk and sat in the window seat as he opened the front page. He was lost looking at his mum, dad and himself as a baby smiling and waving at the camera. He felt rather than saw Phoenix sitting down beside him. "That's my favorite picture of them." Harry said with a sad smile.

Phoenix smiled. "It's a great photo."

Harry turned the page. The next photo was of his parents dancing around under the clock tower of Hogwarts in the snow. "They sure looked happy there."

Phoenix cuddled up beside him so she could see the photo easier. "Yeah they do." She smiled fondly. "Mum thought she was going to have to confound your mum into finally agreeing to go out on a date with your dad just to get him to stop asking her out."

Harry smirked. "I remember her saying something about him being immature with his pranks." Harry slowly turned the page again.

"Yeah, she used to say Uncle James should have earned his mastery at annoying Aunt Lily and surviving to tell the tale." She chuckled and Harry joined in.

The next picture showed James kissing Lily in her wedding dress with a man and a much younger Althea looking on with amusement. Harry took a sharp look at Phoenix as he took in the man laughing and smiling with his dad in another wedding photo on the opposite page. It was obvious who the man in the photo was. "That's your dad, Sirius?" He asked.

Phoenix nodded slowly. "Your dad and mine where suppose to have been very close." She said with a very soft far-away voice. "My mum threw away most of the pictures of my dad, unless like these ones, they had other people in them. I only have one of my dad by himself, but I think it's because it's of dad in his animagus form."

Harry looked surprised. "Your dad is an animagus? What is he?"

Phoenix bit her lip and turned to the next page of her photo album. "Mum has no clue I have it. Please not to tell her." Harry promised. Phoenix took out her own muggle style photo album and turned it to a well worn page. It was obvious that she must look at this picture often.

Harry looked down at the black dog in the photo and couldn't help but start to laugh. The dog had the grumpiest, sheepish look he'd ever seen on a dog, and the picture dog kept trying to rip the two bright pink bows off the top of its ears and placing its paw over its muzzle in embarrassment. The dog then began yapping silently at the person taking the photo. The fur was curly and puffy on top of its head and it had a pompom on its tail. It was obviously too big to be a toy poodle, it was more a medium sized one. Phoenix joined in with Harry's laughter. "Not so scary looking in this one is he?" She giggled. "Mum said your dad had gotten him with a prank to put the bows on his ears and they were stuck with a permanent sticking charm. Dad wouldn't change back because then they would have been glued to his hair."

They laughed and talked a bit more about the different photos of Harry's parents with a few close friends from the wedding pictures (Sirius, Remus, Peter, Alice Longbottom and Althea) and Phoenix's favorite photos of her mum and herself in Wolf Haven. She explained about the group their dad's had in school called the Marauders and about the four friends. She didn't tell Harry about Moony's illness, but she did tell Harry about his dad being a stag animagus. Neither photo album had any photos of James in that form though. She admitted it was a secret that only a few people knew about. After a while of looking at all the photos, they decided it was time to go visit Uncle Moony.

Phoenix had timed their visit to be later in the morning so Uncle Moony would have had a chance to get a nap in before they stopped by. They had a pleasant chat over a light lunch in his office where he showed them his newly delivered Grindylow. Snape had already been by just before they had arrived but Phoenix had been impressed when she was told the smoking goblet had been sitting empty for over ten minutes already. One thing Phoenix had to give Snape credit for, he was a definitely a master when it came to potions if he could brew a Wolfsbane potion like that one! Her mother could have brew one that perfect but then again her mother had been brewing it every month for over four years now while the potion was only considered 'new' in Europe. Meaning it had to be Snape's second possible third attempt.

They hadn't stayed too long because Lupin was still tired and Phoenix was worried that Harry might but two and two together and figure out Moony's secret.

The feast that night had been excellent, but Phoenix and Harry both couldn't completely relax. For Harry he'd spent over an hour looking at the Photo album learning more about his parents and Sirius from Phoenix. And for once Phoenix hadn't been shy about sharing stories about some of the pranks James, Remus, Peter and Sirius had played on his mum and Althea. The stories had mostly been about James annoying Lily with pranks that seemed to be the equivalent to pulling the hair of the girl you like in grade school, like stealing her books with a summoning charm and refusing to give it back.

As they nearer the Tower they became aware that their housemates weren't going inside. They overheard Peeves telling the headmaster that Sirius Black had attacked the Fat Lady. Phoenix suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. Her eyes turned to Harry who had also turned to her. She felt her knee begin to give way and started to fall straight down. Harry and Ron quickly grabbed her to stop her from damaging her knees on the cold stone floor.

"Easy now." Ron told her as they brought her back up but continued to support her. "He's long gone already." He assured her.

Harry pulled her into a hug. "I've got you sis." He told her. "He can't touch us."

They could hear the Prefects trying to get everyone moving back to the Great Hall. Harry and his friend stayed for a few minutes waiting for Phoenix to be strong enough to walk on her own. Percy came over to see why they were not moving with the rest of them but held his tongue for once when he saw how frightened Phoenix was.

"Is she alright?" He asked, somewhat concerned.

"Yeah, she just needs a minute to get over the shock I think." Harry told him. "Are you ready now?" He asked her. Phoenix nodded and snuggled closer to Harry's side as they walked down to the Great Hall together.

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A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to review. For some reason I don't ever get many. :)

I hope that the fact that Harry knows who Fang is but Phoenix doen't is coming across correctly. No one said anything about it during the last chapter. As you can tell by now she thinks her dad is a mid-sized poodle, not a big black grim-looking dog. Harry however doesn't realize that they aren't talking about the same dog yet as Sirius doesn't show himself to anyone else yet.


	7. PoA Chapter 6

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Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © and tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 6 – Merlin save us from Murderers, Ministers and Monsters.

By the time they had reached the great hall Phoenix was highly embarrassed by her near breakdown. Harry still had his arm around her shoulders even though she had half-heartedly tried to shrug it off as they entered and returned to the Gryffindor table.

"You don't have to stay this close if you don't want to." She whispered to him. She had noticed that the rest of the house had given both her and Harry a wide berth, except their friends; Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Dennis and Percy who was hovering protectively because he saw it as his duty as a prefect.

"Nah, your just the right height to comfortably rest my arm on." Harry said with an innocent look that wouldn't fool a two year old.

Phoenix x snorted. "You need to work on your acting and lying skills."

Harry's smile became more genuine. "Feeling better?"

Phoenix nodded. "I'm sorry," she said hanging her head, "I was just surprised that he got in the castle."

Harry squeezed her shoulder. "I am too. He must have used his dog form to wander the halls."

The group around them looked surprised, but Percy most of all. "Black is an animagus!" He looked fearfully around at the students around them wondering how many would bring their pets with them, none in Gryffindor since they had been unable to enter the tower, but Dumbledore had sent the other heads of house to collect the rest of the students.

Phoenix nodded. "He's a black poodle." She bit her lip and waited for someone to yell at her for not telling anyone. Percy looked close to it but instead he just looked stern. "That information hasn't been released to the public."

Harry glared at Percy. "The teachers are aware of it and I'm sure professor Dumbledore has taken the proper precautions."

"Perfects should have been told so we could be on the alert." Percy said with his old tone of superiority. He seemed to take it as a personal insult that Phoenix and Harry knew something he didn't.

Hermione stepped between her friends and the annoyed Percy. "Did it ever occur to you that Perfect should be reporting seeing any strange animals in the school, and a dog would qualify since no student is allowed to have a dog as a familiar in Hogwarts?"

Percy looked down his nose at Hermione, "That doesn't excuse the fact that we should have been made aware of it."

"I'll be sure to tell the headmaster you don't approve of his methods." Hermione scowled. Percy blanched at that and walked away towards the doors to wait for the other houses. "The nerve of that boy." She huffed.

Phoenix smiled at her. "He takes the rules too seriously and he is angry that he failed to protect the house and his family." She explained. "He is the only one of the current Weasleys that practices the old forms of conduct." She said with an apologetic smile to Ginny who just waved the look away. "Honor is important to him, and finding out that his earned position still doesn't allow him access to information that he needs to carry out his responsibilities is an insult to his honor of the highest order. It implies that he is not trustworthy enough to do his job."

"Matters of honor such as that were once dealt with by duel to the death." Neville carried on the explanation. Harry noticed that Neville always had more confidence when he was talking about the pureblood customs than he was when discussing magic. "It used to lead to blood feuds and helped to wipe out whole families until the duels were outlawed in the 1700's."

The attention of the group turned towards the doors as first the Ravenclaws and then Hufflepuffs and finally Slytherins arrived. Percy seemed to have only pulled Penelope Clearwater aside and was talking to her. The girls shook her head at him and whatever she said to him managed to reduce his agitation back to the level it had been before he'd learned about Black.

Shortly afterwards Dumbledore explained what had happened to the Fat Lady guarding Gryffindor Tower and conjured enough sleeping bags for everyone. Harry and his friends stayed as close together as they could, but they were separated by gender.

Harry had been lying awake when he overheard the conversation between Dumbledore, Percy and Snape about the search for Black and the lack of results that had turned up. Harry found it interesting that both Dumbledore and Percy never mentioned the fact that Black was an animagus to each other. It did not surprise him that Snape had alluded to it when he tried to cut Percy out of the conversation by reminding the headmaster of a private exchange they'd had earlier. Harry also wasn't happy that Snape was also suggesting that Uncle Moony was helping Black. After getting to know the man he was sure that Lupin was hiding something from him, but it most definitely was not a friendship with Black, Harry was sure of that much. Percy however had an angry look on his face as Dumbledore walked away from him. Snape had glanced down at him and sneered when he noticed Harry's opened eyes.

For the past hour since they had been ordered to their sleeping bags by Percy, Phoenix had tried to relax but now that Harry wasn't supporting her, her imagination had her watching the shadows for any sign of the black poodle in her picture. A movement near the shadows in the door had made her tremble until she realized it was just Professor Snape's robes billowing behind him.

Snape was prowling down the rows of students as Dumbledore walked out of the hall, when he got to her the scowl on his face softened a touch as her fear filled eyes looked up at him. She could feel tears burning in her eyes as she trembled and tried to keep her sobs choked back. He kneeled on one knee by her head. "Did they offer you anything to help calm you?" He asked very quietly.

Phoenix shook her head a little harder than she meant to. She managed to graze her head against the floor. Snape's face darkened to a disgusted sneer. "I'll send the nurse over to you with something."

"I- I-"She stammered, trying to both thank him and wishing she could ask for the only thing in the school that made her feel safe. But she knew Snape hated Harry, and she could not ask for anything more tonight since she believed it was her fault that all the staff and the aurors were losing their sleep because they had to search the castle. If she'd never come here, she convinced herself, Sirius Black would never had tried to get into Gryffindor tower.

Her pendent must have stopped making contact with her skin because she felt the brush of Legilimency against her own pitiful shields before the touch slipped past them into her mind. He seemed to reel back slightly in surprise, but sighed with a mix of disgust and understanding. "Go," he said with a quiet menacing tone, "He's still awake."

Phoenix didn't need to be told twice. She jumped up, and on impulse hugged the stern professor as her relief overcame her before grabbing her sleeping bag and all but running to where Harry was lying about fifteen students away. Several students' heads popped up as those that weren't sleeping yet saw the peculiar display. When she reached him Harry looked surprised but he quickly moved over as far as he could so she could lie down next to him. Harry pulled the zipper of his sleeping bag down far enough so he could let his hand reach out. Phoenix latched on to it and let her tears finally fall silently. She mouthed 'thank you'. Harry mouthed 'you're welcome'. She quickly placed her pendent back in place against her skin from where it had managed to get caught in her shirt and sweater.

Madame Pomfrey frowned at the two when she came to offer the calming draught to Phoenix. "Next time get a prefect to come get me if you need something, alright dear." She said softly. "Take this and get back to your proper place."

Phoenix grabbed Harry's hand harder. "Professor Snape said she could stay." Harry answered for her.

Madame Pomfrey looked like she was going to argue but when she looked back at Phoenix, who had taken the potion, but she still had an alertness that seemed unnaturally high. She sighed and backed away. "If you both are not asleep in fifteen minutes I'll give you a sleeping potion." She told them sternly. They both nodded and put their heads down on their pillows.

Once Phoenix was sure the teachers had moved on she opened her eyes to see Harry watching her with concern. "I'm sorry he came after me and caused all this." She told him in the quietest of whispers.

Harry gave a small shake of his head. "I think he was after us both." Phoenix shivered once more and Harry pulled her bag closer with his free hand. "I promise that he will not hurt you, I won't let him."

Phoenix nodded. "I promise mum and I are going to protect you too." Both of them were shh-ed by Percy as he walked by. By wordless agreement Harry kept his hand clasped in Phoenix's outside their sleeping bags.

When Percy patrolled by fifteen minutes later the two were asleep. He noted that both their brows were wrinkled with worry and their clasped hands were up by their faces, both hands gave off the tiniest of white glowing light allowing a flicker of shadow to play over their faces. A quick identification spell confused Percy further. The magical signature made him unsure which one of the two was powering the light spell coming from both their hands. Since it was weaker than a candle, Percy left the spell in place but hurried over to inform Dumbledore who was very interested in the phenomena.

In the morning both Harry and Phoenix were still slightly tired but feeling better about the events from the night before. Both had vague memories of waking, looking and seeing that the other was safe and then instantly going back to sleep.

Ron had been surprised to wake up with Harry's back so close to his face, but it was Neville who has happiest that he'd awakened first. At some point he remembered waking and seeing Phoenix between him and Harry, and while he was sleeping he'd placed his hand on her side and had shifted closer to her. He'd hate to think what Harry would have thought if he'd seen that!

Neville would have been mortified if he'd known that Hermione had been awake before he'd been and immediately gone looking for Phoenix when she noticed the girl was missing. Finding her between the two protective boys had made her wish she had her own wizarding camera like Colin. The three of them looked so cute together.

She wasn't surprised to see that even with the amount of physical contact Harry seemed to give Phoenix that he'd kept his contact to just their hands while Neville seemed more affectionate. She suspected that Harry's family had not been fond of him in the previous two years that she had known him, but the more she learned the truth, the more thankful she was of the relationship Althea and her daughter had freely given him.

Breakfast had been an interesting affair. The whole hall was awake earlier than normal because the early risers had nothing to keep them occupied with except gossiping. The nature of the attack on Gryffindor tower flew back and forth between everyone. Harry and his friends kept pretty quiet. While all the speculation was flying freely one girl seemed to be completely oblivious to it all. The students had been released to return to their common rooms when the blonde Ravenclaw girl came over and spoke to Ginny for a moment before walking away. Ginny looked a little confused and flustered as she returned the Phoenix's side.

"Something the matter Gin?" Asked Phoenix as she finished the last of her toast.

Ginny looked distracted but shook her head. "No, Luna just wanted to know if I thought Harry would allow you to be interviewed for the Quibbler and if you'd be interested." Phoenix gulped and started to shake her head before Ginny continued. "I would have said 'no way' normally but she isn't looking to do a story on you. She wants to do an exposé on the fact that your dad used to be Stubby Boardman of the Hobgoblins before going to Azkaban."

Phoenix blinked. "He was?" She said in surprise.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "It's the Quibbler, it's not like you can believe anything you read in it. But her dad is the Editor and Owner of the paper." Ginny explained what the Quibbler's idea of front page news was. The whole idea of a tabloid that required people to believe in ministry conspiracies that were based on mythical creatures (and that was saying something considering it was a magical world she lived in) was just mind boggling. It left Phoenix wondering if the whole British wizarding society was crazy or if it was just her outsider point of view. She looked over at the mysterious girl who looked like she was imagining all sorts of adventures in her head.

"I bet she doesn't have any problems casting Charms." Phoenix said with a touch of jealousy. The girl looked so carefree that Phoenix wished for a moment that she could be Luna Lovegood.

"Loony?" Came Ron's voice from across the table from her, drawing her out of her sulk. "I'd imagine so. Her mum was a charms mistress. I bet she gave her pointers before she started here."

Ginny gave her brother a look of disgust. "Surely you remember her mother died about five years ago Ron. She obviously couldn't have unless it was from beyond the grave."

Harry's face saddened for the strange girl. "I take it you know her pretty well." Harry asked, he took note of Ron's nickname for her and felt annoyed on the girl's behalf. The way he'd said 'Loony' sounded too much like his family's use of the word 'Freak'.

Ginny gladly turned her back on her brother. "She is our closest magical neighbor."

Harry looked surprised. "How come I never saw her last summer when I was at your place?"

Ginny blushed. "Because I never invited her over. I was too embarrassed."

Phoenix looked confused. "Why would you be-" The look on Ginny's face flushed a darker red and she began to flick her eyes towards Harry. Phoenix thought it best to let it go and talk to her again about Luna when Harry wasn't around since the reason seemed to be because he was there. "Well I guess it doesn't matter." She said to help get Ginny off the hook.

Harry's face had a looked mixed with curiosity and puzzlement as he contemplated the blonde girl. Looking back around at his friends he noticed that Dennis also had the same look of bewilderment at the way the girls shut down the conversation. "So are you going to do the interview?" Dennis asked Phoenix.

"I don't think so." She said shyly. "I mean the press here has been overwhelming. And I don't know if it's true are not."

"I'm sure she will quote you properly, unlike in the Prophet." Ginny told her. "If you wanted too that is."

Phoenix looked over at the girl one more time, Luna noticed her and waved as her smile brightened. Phoenix smiled and waved back making the girl's expression brighten a little more. "Tell her I'll think about it but I need to check on some facts for her first. Does that sound fair?" She asked Ginny.

Ginny nodded. "I'll be sure to tell her during Transfiguration."

The students were finally released to return to their common rooms. The 'mad knight' was now guarding the tower entrance. Thankfully the professors understood that students were going to be late that morning.

Harry and Phoenix noticed that they both were being closely watched by both the portraits and the teachers. Harry told Phoenix about his conversation with McGonagall. He was angry about being banned from evening Quidditch practice unless there was a teacher there. Phoenix pointed out that Hooch wasn't so bad, she had been refereeing Quidditch at Hogwarts for quite some time and maybe he could get Wood to talk to her for training ideas when he was being exceptionally cruel or the weather was bad. Wood seemed to be in a temper because Snape had changed the game schedule over Malfoy's injury and the tactics they had been practicing were to be used against Slytherin but were no use against the fair-minded Hufflepuffs the next day.

Somehow Phoenix had known that Uncle Moony would not be teaching that day and she asked him to not say a word in his class but to take notes on any comments he made about Lupin. Harry wasn't surprised at the venom Snape spat out during the class towards Lupin, it reminded him of how he liked to bash the memory of James Potter. In fact Harry noticed he never said these types of things to the face of people he hated, he was too cowardly. While he hated every minute of the class he had to admit Snape knew the topic of werewolves well, unlike the Kappa which even Harry knew were from Japan and not Mongolia. As they were leaving Hermione wondered why Snape seemed to hate Lupin so much. Harry explained that Lupin had been best friends with his dad.

Phoenix's day was tiring. Everywhere she went people were whispering and pointing at her. Dennis had stayed by her side and kept trying to distract her, and Orla had been a steadfast support in the Transfiguration class they had after lunch. Looking around at the rest of the first years in the great hall at dinner, Phoenix understood what Dumbledore had meant about making friends in her own year. Most of her friends were older and because of Harry.

Just before dinner she did make a special trip up to the Owlery to send her letter to her mother asking about Luna's questions. Hedwig was glad to do so for the treats she gave her.

She hadn't eaten much and Harry was sitting beside her, encouraging her to cheer up when the doors to the Great Hall opened. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge walked in, followed by two dementors and six aurors. Even with the creatures reining in their auras the cold and the fear penetrated into the room and the students began to scream and move away from the doors.

"Harry!" Phoenix cried out as he suddenly started to slump towards her. His eyes were fluttering and she quickly grabbed him around the neck and pulled his face into her shoulder. If the creatures wanted to feed on Harry they were going to have to go through her first.

"Cornelius!" Dumbledore's voice boomed out and drew the attention of everyone. "Remove those creatures from my great hall!"

Fudge made noises about his protection and needing them, but even he could see that bringing them into the great hall had been a mistake and had the aurors move the creatures outside the door. Kingsley Shacklebolt stood beside the Minister and addressed the Headmaster. "We are here to discuss last evening with one of your students Professor Dumbledore." He said respectfully.

With the dementors outside of the room Harry began to come around again. Just in time to hear Kingsley's announcement. He went to stand up and Phoenix quickly stood to help keep him steady. Ron on his other side stood with them.

Dumbledore looked quite angry still as he walked towards the now fidgeting Minister. "I have told you repeatedly not to bring those creatures near my students Cornelius." Dumbledore said, his voice managing to drip with disappointment that made the Minister shrink even further into his self. The headmaster turned to the Auror. "Which student?" He asked.

"Ms. Black sir." Kingsley said, he shot the young trembling girl a looked of sympathy. Phoenix straightened her spine and stood with her head high. There was an explosion of noise as everyone began to talk at once.

"Harry, we can't let them take her." Neville said urgently. "She doesn't have the protection of a head of a household. They can refuse to give her pureblood rights to representation."

"Can we do anything?" Harry whispered back franticlly scrambling for an answer.

Neville shook his head. "I can't, if I did I'd be announcing a betrothal. You can, because her mother is your guardian. Extending protection to each other's houses is expecting in situations like yours." Harry nodded his understanding.

Dumbledore had finished talking to Kingsley and Cornelius. "Please come forward Ms. Black

"No!" Harry said shaking with the after affects of the dementors and righteous anger. He shook off Ron's arm and stood in front of Phoenix, blocking the Auror and Minister's view of her. The group looked surprised by Harry's refusal. "She is under the protection of the House of Potter." He announced loudly. "If she goes, I go."

Phoenix looked at Harry with awe. She had never expected Harry to gain insight into his rights so quickly or so well. Behind Harry and Phoenix Neville stood up. "House Longbottom stands with house Potter." He said proudly. He stepped forward and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"And we stand with him." Ron called out as he stood beside Neville. Soon all of Harry and Phoenix's Gryffindor friends had stood as well. They didn't really understand what they were doing, but it was obvious to the adults that Harry and Neville did.

Dumbledore looked proud of his students as he looked over the group standing straight and tall, staring down the Minister of Magic. "I am sure that this is not a legal proceeding." Dumbledore said with his regular twinkle.

"No ,no. Of course it's not, we just wanted to ask a few questions." Cornelius said nervously. "We just need to make sure we haven't over looked anything is all."

"As the protector head of house, Mr. Potter has the right to be present during the questioning." Kingsley said with a black, professional face. "Would you both please accompany us somewhere where we could ask our questions?"

"Only if the dementors are removed from the castle." Harry snarled. "The damn things keep trying to kill her."

After some posturing by the minister the group left the great hall. They left behind a room full of curious students with too much imagination, and more ammunition for gossip than the previous evening's events. The majority of the students in the hall were not aware of Harry's guardianship belonging to Althea. As such the students of Hogwarts believed Harry had in fact just announced his betrothal Phoenix Black! Neville just had to laugh privately to himself. The rest of Harry's friends either didn't understand why the school had gone mad or didn't care. Either way they acted as if the news wasn't new to them. They knew Harry, Phoenix or Neville would explain away from the gossip hungry students.

On the way up to the Headmaster's office Harry had needed a little support from Phoenix and she was hiding it by pretending she needed his support. Their actions didn't fool the headmaster or Kingsley. Halfway to the office Kingsley had slipped Harry some chocolate. He'd nodded his thanks and quickly ingested it.

Seated around the headmaster's desk the group settled. Kingsley also took a seat, normally during an interrogation the head Auror stood. The minister frowned but as he'd already been publicly embarrassed over this incident he wasn't about to protest any further.

"Now Ms. Black." Kingsley said kindly. "We are just trying to find out what is going on in your father's mind, so we want to just see if you might have heard something."

"I've never seen or heard from my father." She said sadly.

Kingsley smiled. "Sometimes we might not notice things as important at the time but can remember important things if the memory can be triggered."

She looked at Harry who shrugged. "I don't think I've seen or heard anything either, but it can't hurt to try." He said supporting her.

She nodded. "Ok Mr. Shacklebolt. What did you want to know about?"

"Have you received letters that look like they might have been intercepted?" He asked. Over the next hour he had asked her about any small thing that might to suggested that someone was spying on her or watching her. He asked her about anything strange in the school so she mentioned all the abnormal things that had happened. She admitted to getting the house elves to help with Fang and Hagrid's other animals, and she mentioned an invisible herd, which Dumbledore admitted were creatures called Threstrals. Dumbledore made it a point to thank her for caring about the creatures. She said she sometimes felt like she was being watched when she went down to Hagrid's, but it normally ended up being Hagrid's dog Fang as it walked up to her. Although one time she thought she'd felt the invisible creature.

Harry had added a few strange encounters this year including Malfoy's comments suggesting that he personally go looking for Black, and his divination teacher saying that he was being followed by a Grim. Dumbledore looked a little concerned at that comment; Fudge looked like he was scared out of his wits by it.

"Thank you for telling us all this, Phoenix." Kingsley said.

"Did it help at all?" She asked quietly.

Kingsley shook his head. "I never really thought you'd hide anything from me or that Black would contact you, but we had to ask." He explained. They had built up enough trust over the summer that Kingsley was sure that if Phoenix had thought she'd seen Black she would have told him. "If your mail looks like it's been tampered with, let me know right away, alright?" She nodded her agreement.

"I still think we should have use veritaserum just to be sure."The minister mumbled.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "And that's why I wouldn't allow her to be questioned without me present." Harry snarled at the foolish man.

"I must agree with Mr. Potter's assessment as veritaserum can be fatal when used on a child." Dumbledore said gravely. Fudge shrank back mumbling about forgetting about that. "You both may go Mr. Potter, Ms Black." Dumbledore said, dismissing them from the room. They both left the room, but Harry held up his finger to his lips and stopped the door from completely closing. They both stood close to the crack in the door to listen.

"I have warned you about those creatures before Cornelius. You have given them too much freedom as it is." Dumbledore lectured the younger man. "I am warning you now that if even one of the children in Hogwarts is harmed because of the actions of those creatures I will have to start an inquiry into just how such actions could have happened. Do I make myself clear?"

"Really Albus. The creatures are perfectly in control. I have those two as my personal bodyguards because they are so effective. I do not see why you will not let them on the ground s to patrol especially since Black got on the grounds somehow last night."

"I will not allow it because without orders they have twice tried to kill one of the children under my care." Dumbledore said with a louder voice, he was beginning to sound angry.

"That's only because we had no idea that Black's daughter was here." Cornelius blustered.

Kingsley's voice spoke up. "That is not true Minister. The Black task force was aware of her. However the dementor teams were not placed under my command. If I was their commander they would have been aware of Ms. Black, and the danger of allowing the dementors free rein in a train full of school-children."

"And why weren't they?" Cornelius bellowed.

"Because they got their orders from your office, not from the DMLE." Kingsley shot back.

"What?" Cornelius's voice sounded completely surprised. "I never authorized that!"

"The orders came from your undersecretary Umbridge." Kingsley said his tone flat.

"I am warning you Cornelius. If anything happens because of anyone in your office interfering with Hogwarts security I will hold you responsible, publicly." Dumbledore threatened.

From the sounds of fabric moving Harry and Phoenix moved away from the door so they would be out of sight when the people came out of the office. The Minister stormed out alone and headed down the staircase. They both moved back to hear more.

"-she's the one to watch." Kingsley was saying.

"I agree but it is too early to do anything drastic. Removing her without evidence is not acceptable." Dumbledore sighed.

"Do you think she's hiding something?" Kingsley asked.

"I know she is." Dumbledore said. "I just cannot prove it at this time."

"I'll take my leave now sir."

"Of course Kingsley. Please feel free to use my Floo." Dumbledore offered.

Harry and Phoenix walked quietly back to Gryffindor tower. "What do you think that was about?" She asked him.

Harry shook his head at her. "I have no idea." He admitted. Looking down at her he could see how exhausting the day had been for her. "Come on, I bet you could use some extra sleep."

"What about you? You have your first game of the year tomorrow." She reminded him.

"Yup and I plan to hit the sack after Ron bets me at a game of chess." He chuckled.

"I think I'll stay in Hermione's room tonight though." Phoenix said quietly.

Harry scowled softly. "Are Vane and her gang still bugging you?"

Phoenix shook her head. "They ignore me but after last night I am still a little afraid of being alone in the dark." She admitted with a frightened whisper.

Harry looked disappointed. "I wish I could offer the same as last night. It's the best sleep I can remember having in a long time too."

"At least in Hermione's room I'll be welcome."

The next day Harry proceeded to the locker room as Phoenix and their friends headed to the Gryffindor stands. Quidditch wasn't as big a sport in Canada as it was over in the UK, so Ron and Hermione were explaining the sport to both Phoenix and Dennis who had never seen a game.

The game was long and cold, after a little while Hermione cast some warming spells and some water repelling charms on their cloaks to help keep them warm. Some after the Quidditch teams called for a break. Hermione disappeared but came back looking pleased with herself. She explained what she did for Harry's glasses and casting the warming charm on his gloves so he could move his fingers.

Phoenix wasn't about to say anything out loud as Ron seemed like a fanatic but she was really getting quite bored. That is until the Dementor cold began to freeze her bones. She looked up in horror as the creatures cut Harry off from the stands and then she saw the ones closest to her turn as one towards her.

Neville saw the danger and grabbed her and pulled her to his chest and placing his hands over the back of her head holding it in place. "Ron, get on her other side and hug her close!" He ordered. Ron quickly did as he said. They were hoping to stop the dementors from coming to close to them. Hermione, Dennis and Ginny quickly did the same all facing inward. Hidden in the cocoon of her friend's bodies the chill lessoned.

"Tuck you heads down." Hermione yelled. "Don't let them get to your mouths." The group huddled closer together until they heard a voice yelling that the dementors were leaving. The group of friends hadn't noticed but as they huddled together the dementors had lost their interest in the Black girl and gone after the enemy of Voldemort.

When they looked up they could see Dumbledore was standing on the field where Harry lay unconscious; he was surrounded by a white silvery bird that looked quite a bit like Fawkes. Several of the creatures were still swirling around the outside of the stadium but Dumbledore's spell was pushing them back as the school nurse came rushing out onto the field.

Phoenix felt fine once the group untangled themselves from around her. "Thanks guys." She said gratefully.

Hermione looked extremely worried. "We need to get to the infirmary."The group took one look at the field where Harry had been placed on a stretcher and being carried off before they hurried to follow.

Inside they all met up with the Quidditch team and waited for Harry to wake up. Professor Flitwick brought in the remains of Harry's broom while Harry was still out cold.

When Harry awoke he was told about the fate of the game. He took the loss pretty hard; it was the first time ever that he'd failed to get to the snitch first. And the broken broomstick just added to his depression. The one thing he didn't tell anyone around him was he'd finally heard the screaming from the train again, this time it was clearer and he knew for certain it hadn't been Phoenix. It was his mother, begging Voldemort not to kill baby Harry.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reviewing. It always helps to know people like what I'm writing. :) I'm also glad I seem to have been clear about the dog issue.

Few things I want to make clear here.

Percy- He believes in the Old codes. The explaination I have for his behaviour in Canon is reflected in the Harry as a Scion should have been aware of his standing. When it became clear that Harry was not being raised properly he became suspious about what his parents were doing to help Dumbledore to keep Harry from his heritage and things fell apart from there. Here thats not an issue. Phoenix is obviously helping him learn it but he's still a pompous idiot. :) Unlike the Twins, Ron and Ginny he remembers his parents teaching both CHarlie and Bill how to be proper Heads of House and he learned also.

Harry - He is trusting because in the books he is still trusting. He beleived Black right away (having some proof helped). Althea had proof of who she was and what she was offering to Harry, and he accepted it. He still has issues with touch and such but he'll be gettng better.

Fudge- Hogwarts and the minister were buried in letters about Phoneix, the ministry had to be seen doing "SOMETHING", so he wanted to question her. :)


	8. PoA Chapter 7

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © & tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 7 – Marauder's Map

Harry ended up having to stay in the hospital wing for the whole weekend due to his encounter with both the dementor and the ground after he fell off his broom. Dumbledore's spell had saved him from death, but not some serious bruising and sore muscles and a broken arm.

Phoenix had been saved by Neville's quick thinking. As a result she'd avoided anything more than a quick scan by the healer's wand. Madame Pomfrey had obviously said something to someone of authority, because at each meal the next day, Phoenix and her friends had either gotten a small bar of Honeyduke's chocolate, on their plate or some very rich chocolate pudding with chocolate chunks in it. The other students around them were more than a little jealous of their 'medical treatments'.

The teachers and Dumbledore were in a constant state of alertness. The minister had shown up and began to pull the dementor back farther from the school, Phoenix guess it was one thing for the creatures to attack the daughter of an escaped convict but another to attack the Boy-Who-Lived. With the amount of talk going on around the school, Phoenix had been surprised by the complete silence of the papers.

"Luna?" Phoenix called out to the young girl by the hippogriff paddock on the Saturday.

"Hello Ms. Black." Luna answered in her soft, ethereal voice. "Have you decided to do that interview?"

Phoenix bit her lip. "I don't know anything about the topic you wanted to discuss so I sent a letter to my mother. When she gets back to me I'll show you that part of the letter, ok?" The girl was strange and yet Phoenix felt slightly intimidated by the other-worldliness of the blonde.

Luna looked extremely pleased and her smile lit up. "Thank you for being honest and not just dismissing the idea."

"I take it people don't always do that with you?" Phoenix asked as she looked down at the grass, it was then that she noticed the girl wasn't wearing shoes, just cloth wrapped around her feet.

"No, people think I'm odd." The girl said with a small shake of her head. "Can you imagine?"

Phoenix gave her a small smile. "Yeah, you're talking to one of the few people who grew up in a Werewolf Reserve that isn't a werewolf." Phoenix had never hidden her past but the fact that she was Sirius Black's daughter had made it so most people weren't aware of it. The papers focused only on her relationship with the escaped prisoner.

Luna's eyes focused on her face. "Is that why you get along with the dark creatures out here so well?"

"What?" Phoenix asked. She looked around and noticed that Buckbeak was now standing right behind her and seemed to be sniffing her. To her other side Sirius Black in the form of Padfoot had walked up, curious about the girl his daughter was talking to. "Oh these guys aren't dark creatures." She explained to Luna with a fond smile. "These are Hagrid's er…" She looked behind her to find Buckbeak watching her carefully; she recalled the reason why Malfoy was hurt. "Friends?" She finished softly but never taking her eyes off the hippogriff. The eagle head seemed to blink at her as if considering her words before it threw its head back with approval before he proudly walked back over to the fresh straw under the cover of the trees. Her hand dropped down to the animagus's neck as she absently petted him. He sat down beside her obediently.

"He wasn't insulted." Luna said with a smile.

"I know." Phoenix said laughing lightly as she turned back to Luna with relief on her face. "I still have my head."

Luna laughed with her. "But living with werewolves, did it teach you how to care for creatures?" She asked as she too reached out and petted the black dog's head.

Phoenix cocked her head to the side, much like the dog at her side did as she considered the question. "Maybe," She admitted, "Most of the werewolves had large animals, like dogs or part wolves, both magical and non-magical, as their familiars because they keep them company during the full moons with their Wolfsbane potions. Fang here is just a big dog, not a Grim." She said affectionately as she patted his side and smiled down at him. Sirius in return couldn't help giving her a canine smile and thumped his tail on the ground.

Luna giggled as Padfoot licked her hand in a friendly gesture. "You also have a group of threstrals following you around when you are down here." Luna said.

Phoenix looked around. "Are those the invisible ones? I can't see them."

Luna nodded her head sadly. "Only those that have seen death and understand what it means can see the creatures." She gave Phoenix a wistful smile. "I can see them." She pointed out the three that were crowding around the stable entrance and she explained what each one looked like. "They are much like horses. There is only one male stallion in each herd, so Hagrid keeps them in three herds that are kept separated during the year, except on carriage days. Hogwarts has the only tame herds in the world." Luna explained to her. "They all look like very thin horses with leather wings and white milky eyes. They have a unique beauty to them, and are very graceful."

Phoenix took in all the new information. "Thanks for letting me know about them Luna." She said, again honestly and with a smile. "I'm glad to see they are being well cared for. I was worried at the beginning of the year when the animals looked to be going hungry after Buckbeak's incident with my stupid cousin." She said pleasantly except near the end when she was almost snarling out the word cousin.

Luna chuckled. "You have very volatile emotions, did you know that?"

Phoenix blushed and ducked her head a bit. "Mum says I inherited my dad's temper." She felt the dog stiffen at her side and she reached her fingers up on to his head to scratch right behind his ears to help calm him.

"And his looks it seems." Luna added, her words blunt but Phoenix didn't take offence since Luna's tone suggested she was only stating a fact and not passing judgment.

"Yes." Phoenix said as she stared into the forest thinking about the way her life was going lately. Her father's escape had certainly made her life more interesting than she'd ever dreamed for first year at Hogwarts could have been.

"Does it bother you?" Luna asked with a sad tone in her voice.

Phoenix shook her head. "Not usually... Only since I got to England and people started to react to it." She turned and placed her arms on the fence and watched the hippogriffs grazing in their pen. Luna joined her.

The two stood in companionable silence for a while before they began to walk away from Hagrid's hut towards the edge of the lake. Phoenix led them towards Harry's favorite tree. The dog never moved from Phoenix's side, for which she was grateful. His presence seemed to make her feel safer and his presence didn't seem to worry Luna, but many of the students who saw them on the grounds began to move away from them. As the two sat down the dog lay down between them, and both girls took delight in rubbing his belly and laughing as his leg twitched as they played with his ears. Padfoot was hamming it up and enjoying the attention.

Not long after they had sat down Phoenix called for an elf and it returned with a basket of food for the dog and two cups of steaming hot chocolate. Phoenix thanked the elf and handed one of the cups to Luna as she placed Padfoot's dinner out for him.

Luna watched her with wide eyes. "This is for me?" She asked shyly.

"Of course." Phoenix said. "Why else would I offer it to you?"

Luna seemed surprised by her comment but once Phoenix took a sip of her drink, Luna followed and enjoyed the time by the lake getting to know one another. Phoenix wasn't sure what to make of the imaginary creatures that Luna believed in, but nearly each one had a special ability that allowed them to hide from wizards. Phoenix figured that if the magical community was as clueless about some creatures as muggles were, these creatures of Luna's could very well be real and just unproven to exist as of yet.

Phoenix's feet began to get cold after a while and she looked over to wonder about Luna's. That's when she realized the dog had been laying on them and keeping them warm. As they got up to go inside the dog looked mournful but barked happily at them before running back towards the gamekeeper's hut as they waved goodbye to him and went inside.

Later that night Hermione seemed a little flustered until she saw Phoenix walk into the common room. Hermione and the others had let Phoenix spend some time with Harry alone just before curfew because they had been with him most of the day without her. Hermione was beginning to worry about her homework, which she felt she was starting to get behind on since she had spent so much time in the hospital wing today. "Oh thank Merlin you're here. Maybe you can help me with my essay."Phoenix eyes nearly popped out of her head. To date Hermione hadn't asked for her help in anything.

"Alright, what is the potion?" She asked.

Hermione shook her head and pulled out a different piece of parchment. "It's my defense essay actually. Its way ahead of where we are suppose to be and I haven't had time to completely research it. I was hoping you could give me some background information." Hermione explained.

Phoenix looked a little confused. "I'm not an expert on Defense."

Hermione waved her concern away with her hand that was still clutching her quill. "I know but you lived in the Reserve. What I need to know is how to identify and kill a werewolf." Hermione said as she read the outline of the essay Snape had given.

Phoenix exploded in rage. "WHAT?" Her eyes blazed as she glared at the girl. "HOW DARE YOU ASK ME FOR THAT KIND OF HELP!" The entire common room stopped and so silent the wind from outside could be heard blowing.

Hermione looked completely shocked at her reaction. "But that's the topic Professor Snape set."

Phoenix paled and shook her head in denial. "Don't you dare do this essay Hermione." She snarled ripping the parchment in half as she turned and stormed out of the common room. She was more than halfway to the stairway when Hermione caught up to her.

Hermione grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards her. "What are you on about?" Hermione yelled at her. "It's just an assignment. Besides it's after curfew now and you can't go anywhere! You'll lose us house points!"

"It's a bogus assignment that will be cancelled in about five minutes when I talk to Uncle Moony." She snarled at the girl. "If you think about it for a moment than you will understand why that petty, vindictive bastard set the _Cacō_ assignment in the first place!" Hermione let the younger girl go in astonishment at the language she used, even if it was in Latin.

Phoenix took advantage of the distraction as she ran down the stairs to get to Lupin's study to warn him of Snape's treachery. She stayed with him for a while talking about the Quidditch game and the dementor attacks. He wasn't well enough to visit Harry himself yet but Phoenix made sure he knew Harry was alright.

"You're alright though?" He asked with concern.

Phoenix shrugged her shoulders. "Neville protected me by shielding me, then Ron and the others surrounded me. The dementors lost interest in me and went after Harry."

Remus looked away. "I wish I could have done something." He's memories were coming on strong tonight. Phoenix's scent seemed stronger this evening of Sirius. The scent was bringing back memories of being with James and Sirius during past full moons.

"Me too." Phoenix stared out the window looking toward the walls where the creatures were now patrolling. "I'm just more concerned about the assignment Snape set. If Hermione does it, she'll know all about you and so will a few others, possibly. It's just a matter of time before they see it."

Remus nodded wearily. "I'll floo McGonagall and tell her about it."

Sunday found Phoenix being on the outs with the entire Gryffindor house. Her outburst at Hermione had caused the studious girl to hit the books until late the night before trying to figure out what it was that set the girl off and to see what could possibly be the point of the essay. The fact that Phoenix had in fact gotten the assignment revoked had enraged Hermione so much that she wasn't even looking at her throughout breakfast. McGonagall had looked quite angry when Hermione had protested that she'd completed the assignment already.

"I suggest you do not pass that essay in, Ms Granger." McGonagall had snapped. "It was inappropriate for the essay to be assigned in the first place. And you were warned it would be cancelled last evening once Professor Lupin was informed of it. If you decided to complete the assignment anyway then that was poor judgment on your part." She pinned the startled girl with her stern thin-lipped stare, "You will not share that essay with anyone, if I hear you have, and I will have you in detention for a week! Am I understood?" Hermione had weakly nodded her head and fled the hall in tears.

To cover the fact that the subject was the problem, the teachers had made it a point of making the fact that the essay had been given at all as the reason for the assignment's cancellation, and all homework for each year set by Snape for the Defense class was also cancelled. The great hall was flying with gossip about Phoenix and Hermione's fight about the subject, and there was hope that Snape might get fired over the incident, unfortunately it was only a rumor and Snape was only warned not to jeopardize Lupin's position again by Dumbledore in private.

Harry had been surprised to hear about the assignment cancellation from a tearful Hermione. She had been really upset by Professor McGonagall's dressing down. Harry found it rather ironic that he was comforting her when everyone else who visited was trying to comfort him. Listening to her go on about working late into the night on it and having nightmares over the images the assignment had invoked had Harry wishing he could hex Snape for causing his friend so much pain.

The fact that the teachers were cracking down so hard seemed strange to Harry, so did the violent reaction from Phoenix. Looking back on his conversations with her several facts fell into place; Uncle Moony's nickname for one, Phoenix's reaction to the assignment for another, and finally the subject of the essay which was months advanced from where they were in the topic. Phoenix had also wanted to know what Snape would say about Uncle Moony when he wasn't there, as if she suspected him to try something to hurt Lupin. Because of their astronomy lessons Harry was aware that the full moon had been this past week. The information seemed to point all in one direction. Lupin's illness was lycanthropy.

"Hermione, let me ask you something." Harry said carefully. "Did you draw any conclusions from the assignment?" He asked her intently.

Hermione drew in a sharp breath at the seriousness of his stare. She looked away but nodded. "I know why Professor Snape set the essay, but I can't say why."

Harry sat back and took a deep calming breath through his nose. "That was what he was hoping for." He breathed out with a defeated air about him. As if the loss of his broom, and the realization that the only time he could remember hearing his mother's voice was during the attack on that Halloween in 1981 because of the dementor weren't enough on his mind, he now had the smartest student in the school doing Snape's dirty work for him, even if it was unintentionally.

The two shared a knowing glance. Harry knew just from that look that Hermione would keep the fact quiet, but his reaction had reassured her that Harry at least knew. "I'll never… I promise." She said a she wiped her eyes. "I like Professor Lupin."

"I know." He said giving her a sad smile. "Now maybe you can understand why I hate Snape so much. He's trying to get someone I care about fired, just because he can. He's petty and cruel for no reason."

Hermione nodded. "I do understand Harry. But how did you know about Professor Lupin?"

Harry sighed and started to play with the edge of his sheet covering his lower half as he sat up in the bed. "Neither Phoenix, nor Lupin has said anything directly, but the two have said enough that with the teacher's reaction, his being a werewolf is the only explanation that makes sense. Phoenix knows an awful lot about them, and she has a temper but she doesn't have an explosive temper like Ron does, so the subject had to be personal." Hermione nodded, agreeing with Harry's assessment. They couldn't say anymore as Ron and Neville entered the hospital wing at that moment. But they talked more later that evening and came to a few decisions.

Since Phoenix knew that Hermione would be in the hospital wing as long as Madame Pomfrey would allow it, Phoenix decided to spend the day out with the large black dog that she believed was Fang again that day. The dog had seemed to be watching for her and the two had played away from the watchful eyes of the other students, portraits and teachers.

Phoenix had poured her frustrations about her situation out to the dog, explaining about the past few months; her father, the minister and Kingsley's questioning, Harry, Lupin, her mother, her classes and her troubles with her roommates. It seemed as if the dog was listening very carefully and at all the right moments the dog had whimpering in sympathy and had seemed to snicker when she told him about Vane's dressing down by Harry. The dog had even looked very similar to the poodle in expression when she had told the dog about her father's animagus picture as if it too had been embarrassed for her dad. Talking to the dog had really cheered her up.

Monday morning was the first time Hermione and Phoenix ran into each other since the morning before, but it was in passing. Phoenix was leaving the great hall as Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville were coming in. Phoenix just nodded to Harry and went to pass them by when Harry reach out to grab her arm. "We need to talk." He said in a low voice, trying not to draw a lot of attention to them.

Phoenix looked away but Harry shook her arm lightly to get her to face him. His face held a sternness that he reserved for conversations that of a serious nature. Phoenix clenched her teeth and lifted her chin up in her stubborn posture. "Privately I assume?" She questioned coldly.

Hermione watched with a worried expression. Her hands were clasped in an effort not to wring them with her concern. The others had continued to the table but had stopped to look back at the confrontation. Harry looked back at the others and at Hermione's questioning stare he shook his head. Turning his head back to Phoenix's cold stare and almost growled, "Yes." He released her arm and said over his shoulder to Hermione, "If I don't make it back, bring some toast to class for me, will you?"

"Of course Harry." Hermione said sadly before continuing towards the far Gryffindor table.

Phoenix and Harry walked away from the great hall and out of the castle doors towards the grounds. "We don't have much time." Harry said softly, not wanting to be overheard and the cold November air made talking a frigid experience since neither was dressed for being outdoors.

"I'm not going to just forgive and forget that she…" Phoenix's temper was still running hot over the agreement with Hermione and Harry had no intention of letting go too far.

"She didn't figure it out until after the essay was cancelled." Harry interrupted as he grabbed her arm and gave it a small shake to get her to stop ranting. Harry was getting tired of the attitude. With everything else on his plate he did not want his best friends and his god-sister at each other's throats. Ron and Hermione going at it over the rat and cat was more than enough.

"She told you." She snarled.

Harry glared at her and narrowed his eyes as his own temper began to ignite. "I figured it out on my own, because of _your_ reaction." Phoenix had the decency to blush as he corrected her. "It made a lot of sense since I also knew Snape was likely to try something to under mind Uncle Moony's position, thanks to your warning." He added sternly. "So don't go blaming Hermione because she wanted to do an assignment correctly."

"Is she going to tell anyone?" Phoenix whispered, her voice lowered as shame flushed through her.

Harry released her arm and took a deep breath. "No, she never had any intention of telling anyone, even me." He said as he stared down at the top of her bowed head. "I told her why Snape set the essay and she agreed. We decided the only person who we should say anything to was Uncle Moony. I decided to talk to you about it when Hermione spent nearly an hour yesterday crying in the hospital wing."

"One of the conditions of his employment was that students weren't to find out." She mumbled.

Harry sighed and placed his cold hands in his pockets. "We kinda figured that."

"Do you think anyone else will figure it out?" Phoenix asked fearfully.

Harry shook his head. "No, Hermione is too smart for her own good sometimes, and I had a lot of help from comments made by both you and Uncle Moony." He frowned at her. "Hermione has also agreed to cover for his condition if she can with the other third years."

Phoenix shivered as a gust of wind blew across the lake towards the two students who were not dressed for such weather. "I'll apologize later, alright." She said as her teeth began to chatter.

Harry quickly cast two warming charms on them. "I'm not insisting you apologize to her." He said sharply.

Phoenix finally looked up at his face. "I know, but she didn't deserve it, did she?" He could see her sincere remorse on her face. He chuckled softly and pulled her in for a hug that she gladly accepted. "Please don't be mad at me."

"I can't stay mad at you." He said softly as she hugged him back. "Just try not to jump down her throat next time." He suggested with a smirk. "To quote Ron she's brilliant but scary. I'd hate to see you on the wrong end of a hex. Besides I think she's really stressed out because she is taking too many classes." Phoenix nodded and they parted. Harry had just enough time to grab a quick bacon sandwich that he could eat on the way to class, if he hurried.

Harry was concerned deeply about his reaction to the dementors during the game, as was his Quidditch captain Oliver Wood. The reaction seemed to be getting more intense with each encounter. Not to mention that Phoenix was their main target. He felt helpless and angry about the fact that there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. What he really wanted was to learn the Patronus Charm.

Malfoy acting like a fainting pansy every time he walked by was being to get annoying. Using a little the sarcasm he'd learned over the summer from Althea and Phoenix Harry had said in a crowded hallway, "Malfoy, if you don't stop acting like a pre-teen fan girl, I'm going to have to assume you fancy me. And I am informing you now, I'm not gay." Malfoy had snarled and stormed off causing several people to laugh at him. Harry had been surprised when even Hermione had laughed instead of admonishing him over the comment.

During class Lupin had reminded them that the essay given by Professor Snape was not required, he did smile at Hermione and say if she wanted to hand it in he'd consider it for extra credit. She had blushed and handed it over. The rest of the lesson on Hinkypunks was interesting but before they could leave Professor Lupin asked Harry to stay.

"I wanted to come see you in the hospital wing, but…" Lupin started but Harry shook his head.

"You were still recovering from your '_illness_', I know." Harry said with a reassuring smile. His emphasis on illness made Lupin sit up straighter.

He coughed once into his hand and cast a quick privacy spell. "What do you know about that?"

Harry placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you have lycanthropy." Lupin's eyes widened with alarm. "So does Hermione. We figured it out because of the essay."

Lupin closed his eyes in defeat. "Snape's plan worked."

Harry shrugged. "No one else did the essay, except Hermione, so I seriously doubt it." Lupin looked up and stared at Harry in disbelief. "I didn't do the essay, but between the topic, your nickname, Althea and Phoenix it wasn't too problematical to figure out. Of course Hermione worked it out purely from the essay." Harry said as an afterthought.

"She really is a very bright young witch, brightest of her age possibly." Lupin said softly. "Are you going to mention this to anyone else?" He asked.

Harry quickly shook his head. "No Hermione and I agreed that no one should know and we agreed to deflect any interest in the subject. I did talk to Phoenix about her outburst in the common room, so she is aware Hermione and I know about this too."

"She knew from her mother." Lupin admitted.

"Althea knows?" Harry said with surprise.

Lupin nodded. "Phoenix knows a great deal about the Marauder's secrets."

"Like the fact that Black is an animagus?" Harry asked innocently.

Lupin looked up sharply. "Yes." He shook his head in frustration. "Will you please stop dropping little bombshells like that on me. I am not at my best right now." He admitted with a smile and a chuckle. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know all this."

Harry smiled back. "Well at least I know what he looks like in his dog form and if I see it I can let you or Professor Dumbledore know."

"How do you know what he looks like?" Lupin asked, trying very hard not to look surprised once more.

"Phoenix has a picture." Harry admitted to him. Harry's admission to having seen the picture seemed to catch the older man off balance and he stared off into space for a moment. "Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail. Those were our nicknames."

Harry stayed silent and let the man lose himself for a few minutes in his memories. Lupin shook his head as turned back towards Harry. "I really wanted to ask you to stay behind to see if you were ok."

Harry smiled and flexed the shoulder that had been his main injury in the fall. "Madame Pomfrey has fixed me up, good as new." He said with a playful smirk. "But I had a favor I wanted to ask you…" Harry began. He explained about what he heard when the dementors came near and why he wanted to learn the Patronus charm.

Lupin looked very tired but agreed to Harry's request, but after the holidays. The end of term exams and special projects made this time of year very busy. Also his recent 'illness' had placed him even further behind.

The next Hogsmeade visit was two weeks before the end of term and once again Harry was requested to stay behind. He was most disappointed but Phoenix reminded him that her mum had promised them a special trip to Diagon Alley when they visited her at Christmas. They had been invited to spend Christmas Eve with Andromeda Tonks and her family so they could meet Phoenix and by extension Harry. They would only be leaving the castle for a day and a half.

Harry had seen his group of friends off at the front door with his requests for butterbeer and candy. He was on the way back to the common room when he met with the Weasley twins. They seemed to think he wanted to go to the village but was being bared unfairly because of his permission form. Harry had been about to protested that he had agreed to the restrictions, but the twins had pulled out the Marauder's Map. Knowing full well who the Marauder's were Harry gladly took the map from the twins and promised to 'use it well' because 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good'. The twins had been beaming with pride before they joined the cue and left for Hogsmeade.

Harry had been sorely tempted to go, but instead he took the map to Phoenix. The two had spent the afternoon learning about the parts of the castle that they had never known. They couldn't resist a look into the tunnels that lead to Hogsmeade.

"This mirror has a passageway into Hogsmeade as well." Harry said as he tapped the glass and muttered the password the map suggested. The glass surface rippled from where Harry's wand had tapped it. The two shared a smile and walked through it to a dark room. Harry cast a light spell.

"Well that's disappointing." Phoenix muttered as she saw the area not too far into the room had collapsed making the passageway more of a large room with an earth wall.

Harry looked at the earth in amazement. "What I want to know is how the earth collapsed this passageway when we are on the fourth floor."

Phoenix gave him a cheeky grin. "Magic?"

Harry gave her a playful shove. "Oh ha-ha."

Phoenix giggled but moved a little closer and poked the mount of earth. "Seems pretty stable. It's like hard compacted soil."

Harry came over and inspected. "Almost clay-like. Think it's the remains of a duel?"

Phoenix shrugged. "No idea, but I don't think we should move it to unblock the passageway. The map shows it's unblocked so it's one less way Black can get in." She said quietly, reminding Harry why they were looking at the passageways to begin with. They were looking for signs of recent usage. So far they hadn't found any, except the humpback witch on the third floor, but the twins had suggested it so they figured it had to have been them.

Harry had to agree with her about keeping the passage blocked. "This would make a good place to get away from everyone else, wouldn't it?" Harry wondered out loud. He was thinking how nice it would be to have a place to go to get away from everyone else when the other students were feeling the need to gossip about him.

"It would need some light sources and a place to sit, desk and chairs, maybe even a fireplace." Phoenix said wistfully.

Harry chuckled. "A fireplace?"

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah, don't you like to just stare into a fire to work out problems in your head?"

Harry frowned but thought about it. He did tend to stare into the fireplace to focus on his problems. "Well I guess as long as we're wishing for stuff…"

"I think I might be able to come up with something." She said with a knowing smile. "Leave it to me and the new Marauder's Den will be completed."

Harry laughed. "You seriously think you can get a mini common room set up in here?"

Phoenix nodded. "Oh yeah, it shouldn't be a problem. House elves love doing extra work."

Harry looked doubtful. "Are you sure about that?"

"Have you ever talked to them?" Phoenix asked with a knowing smile.

Harry nodded and laughed. "Yeah I had a crazy elf last year try to save my life by trying to kill me."

Phoenix blinked at the complete lack of logic in that statement. "Well that's a new way of doing things." She said carefully.

Harry chuckled at the look on her face. "Dobby was working for the Malfoy's and he was trying to get me to go home from Hogwarts…" He quickly related the events of his second year adventures with Dobby.

Phoenix looked very disappointed. "That's so sad." She said quietly.

"Huh?"

"That poor elf is going to have such a hard life now." She said sadly. "No one will hire him; he'll be alone and considered a disgrace by the others."

Harry paled at the idea that he'd done something to hurt the little elf, while Dobby might be crazy, he was still a good elf. "I shouldn't have done it then?" He asked.

Phoenix bit her lip. "I'm sure he was happy to get away from the Malfoy's but I'm sure he was hoping you'd bond with him."

"But I don't have a house!" Harry yelped.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "You don't need a house to own a house elf."

Harry sat down by the mirror and looked out at the hallway. The mirror acted like window on their side allowing them to see out by no light came in. "It nice not being stared it for once. I think I'd really like a chance to make this our hideout." He said, trying to change the subject, he wanted to think about it for a while before he made any decisions.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow at that. "Just us?" She asked carefully.

Harry turned to her and nodded seriously. "Yeah. It could be our spot you know. I mean there are times when I really need to get away from Hermione and Ron you know. I sometimes don't like being around so many loud people and the common room gets really loud, and they are always yelling at each other, especially over Scabbers and Crookshanks lately."

Phoenix's smile grew as Harry had rambled on. She loved the idea of a secret place they could share. One of the things she missed most about Diagon Alley was the way it was the two of them versus the adult world. "I think I'd like that too."

"This way I'll know if you want to see me or not. Cause you could come here and hang out rather than going off on your own out to Hagrid's." Harry said excitedly.

"And same with you, because I know you like to walk around the lake when you're upset, although we can always ask for some privacy if we need it too right? It is getting really cold outside nowadays."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, a private retreat where we can escape being noticed."

"A place to be normal." Phoenix smiled.

Harry frowned. "Except that Ron and Hermione will be able to find us easily if they used the map."

"If they don't know the password then they can't find us." Phoenix said shyly. "It could still be our secret as the heirs of the marauders?" Her last came out more as a question.

Harry nodded slowly. "For a while maybe." While Ron and Hermione were his best friends, he really was looking forward to some time away from them lately. He could tell Phoenix wanted a chance to own something that was from her parents without having to share it right away, and deep down Harry felt the same way. He didn't mind others wanting to use his cloak for example, but it was still his, and sometimes Ron acted like it belonged to both of them.

They met up with the others and Hermione and Ron told Harry about the conversation they had overheard in Hogsmeade. None of the information was really new but the idea that everyone in the ministry was certain that Black was out to get Harry alone disturbing to say the least.

* * *

A/N: Please remember this is a third year Fic. Hermione does not go on her house elf crusade until 4th year. ;)

_Cacō = Latin profanity, meaning to defecate. Considered to be as bad as the F word._


	9. PoA ch 8

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © & tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 8- Christmas in and out of Hogwarts.

The next morning Harry and Phoenix were to meet Althea in McGonagall's office. They were going to floo to Diagon Alley, get some shopping done and head over to the Tonks residence for an overnight stay and the next day before going back to Hogwarts Christmas eve after dinner.

"Everything packed for the trip Harry?" Phoenix asked, her eyes sparkling at the thought of seeing her mother again.

Harry double checked that his pack was closed before smiling at her. "Yup, I got it all here."

The two quickly made their way to the Deputy's office and knocked on the door. "Come in." Came a voice from inside. When they entered they were greeted to the smiling faces of both professor McGonagall and Althea Sutherland.

"MUM!" Phoenix cried as she threw herself into her mother's arms. "I've missed you so much." She held her mother tight around the waist.

Harry looked on a bit envious of the affection that Althea was giving Phoenix. Althea looked up and gave him a wide smile too and held out her other arm to welcome him in. Harry hesitated for a moment before joining in the hug. "Phoenix, Harry, it's so good to see you both, I've missed you too." Althea said with tears pooling in her eyes. She released them both and pulled back just enough to take a good look at them both. "I've been so worried. And very busy." She admitted.

McGonagall stood. "The floo is set up for you to get to the Leaky Cauldron Althea." She said in her formal voice, instead of the casual one they had heard before they entered the room.

Althea gave the older woman a fond look."Thanks you for everything Minerva, I'll have them back by tomorrow night."

"I wish you could stay for Christmas morning." McGonagall said.

Althea sighed. "I wish I could too. But it's three days before the full moon and I will need to complete the vats of Wolfsbane potion before the 28th. It takes a minimum of four to prepare that much of it, but the apprentices are starting the ingredients for me." She turned sad eyes towards the two children. "I would stay…"

"But that wouldn't be fair to our neighbors and friends back home mum." Phoenix said with a false cheerfulness. While she didn't want them to suffer, she was still homesick enough that she wanted her mother to be around for Christmas day. But the full moon was at a bad time this year and with her father on the loose it had been decided that it was best if they stayed behind the wards instead of staying with the Tonks family. At least next year the full moon was before Christmas. All round except for finding Harry, Phoenix had not enjoyed Hogwarts at so far. Harry could see that it did bother them both not to be together on Christmas day but at least they would have tomorrow.

"Just two quick spells and we'll be on our way." Althea said. She cast two spells silently, one on each child. McGonagall gasped when Harry's hair became longer and his eyes changed to a light green. Phoenix grew several inches and seemed to mature into a thirteen year old teenager. Her eyes changed to match Harry's. Their facial structures changed only mildly but the result made the two look like twins.

Althea lifted Harry's bangs and sighed. "Well let's try this then." Before Harry could protest Althea had pulled out a bottle from her purse and wiped something over his scar. She took a moment to rub it in before she stepped back and studied his forehead for a moment. "At least that worked."

"What was that?" Harry asked curiously.

"Muggle make-up?" Questioned Phoenix.

Althea nodded. "Yes, I was wondering if a glamour spell could cover a cursed scar." She explained. "I didn't think it would."

"Remarkable disguises Althea," complimented McGonagall. "I would never think they were anything but twins. And with your black hair and hazel eyes, no one will question if you're their mother."

"Althea smiled. "That's the idea."

Harry managed a quick look in the refection off the window. Phoenix stepped beside him and looked at herself beside him. "Well brother mine, I guess we are off to do some shopping." Phoenix chuckled.

Harry nodded absently. "Yeah, I guess so."

Althea smiled at the two. "I think it is best if you both used your middle names and my last name while we are in public."

Phoenix nodded but Harry looked slightly embarrassed. "I-ah don't know Phoenix's middle name."

"It's Chara Mr. Potter." McGonagall said.

Harry looked at Phoenix who had ducked her head slightly at the mention of her name. "I really don't like it."

"It's a star isn't it?" Harry asked uncertainly.

Althea nodded. "Yes, specifically it is the second-brightest star in the constellation Canes Venatici. Along with the brighter star Cor Caroli, the pair form the southern dogs leashed to Bootes the herdsmen. The name Chara was originally applied to the "southern dog", but muggles refer to it as Beta Canum Venaticorum. All the Black's are name after a body in the heavens." Althea explained. "It's a requirement of some old spell. I had no choice but to find some way to satisfy the old magic since she was the heir apparent to the Black family." Her tone suggested she wasn't happy about it.

"And Sirius is the Dog Star." Phoenix said miserably as she continued to look out the window.

Althea sighed and placed her hand on Phoenix's shoulder before she pulled her into a hug. "Considering the names I had to choose from I thought it best since the name means Joy in Greek. Besides it wasn't like I was going to name you something like Nymphadora!" She pulled back and shared a chuckled with her daughter as she wiped the tear for her face. "Whatever Andy was thinking when she named her daughter I'll never know."

Harry didn't know what to say so he kept quiet and just smiled when Phoenix looked towards him. They bid McGonagall goodbye and each in turn floo'ed away. Stepping out the other side into the Leaky Cauldron, Harry was surprised to see how empty it was. Being the day before Christmas Eve day, Harry would have assumed it would be packed with people going to do their last minute shopping and such. Tom didn't seem too surprised to see them and was waiting over by the entrance to the Alleyway with the arch opened for them.

"This way Ms. Sutherland." Tom called out. "Had the pub closed for an hour like you asked."

Althea smiled warmly at the man and handed him a pouch of gallons. "Thank you Tom, Take this for the loss of business for the time." She said as she forced his hand to close over the bag. "You have made this day easier for all of us with your generosity." Tom tried to protest but Althea would have none of it and they quietly left the pub and entered into the street.

Harry had never been to a wizarding area at Christmas before so he was surprised to see the amount of colors, decorations and festive cheer in the air around the alley. Phoenix had, but Toronto had never been this spectacular. There weren't too many people about this early in the morning yet. The few that were had a bounce in their step that seemed almost contagious. The 'twins' looked at each other and smiled widely. "Wow!" was all Harry could manage and Phoenix could only nodded in agreement.

Althea let out a bright and gleeful laugh at their astounded looks. "Ok we should get started." She said handing each of them a velvet money bag and cloth shopping bag. "These are connected to the vaults, so you don't have to worry about having enough money on you." She explained the velvet bags, "and these are bottomless shopping bags," she said pointing to the cloth bags. "I am giving you two hours to browse in Diagon Alley only! After that I want to meet up in the Ice Cream shop to see if we need more time in here, alright?" Harry and Phoenix both nodded and called out that they understood as dashed away in opposite directions. Phoenix was headed toward Ollivander's while Harry was on his way to Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Althea walked toward Florean Fortesue's Ice Cream Parlor to sit and wait. She had finished picking up her own gifts for the holidays a few days earlier in Toronto. In the past few months she had spent a minimum amount of time in Canada. Dumbledore had been very insistent regarding Harry's safety. While Althea was aware just how dangerous Sirius could be, she still could shake the feeling that something wasn't right about the accusations. If there was one person Sirius loved more than James it was Harry. Even she wasn't sure Sirius had loved her more than he'd loved Harry. Her concern was what twelve years in Azkaban might have done to his mind to make him a danger to Harry.

Dumbledore had shared why he had send Harry to live with Petunia. While she could understand why, especially in the wake of what happened to the Longbottoms, she did not agree with his lying and manipulations he put her through. They had come to a compromise, or rather she had forced the old man to see the error of his ways or risk forcing her to remove Harry from England permanently. As his godmother and by the wishes expressed in the Potter's will she had gotten herself declared Harry's magical guardian. As per the wizarding law, any choices she made would automatically override those of muggle guardians. Petunia would have no choice but to accept Althea's interference or risk her family becoming targets for Death Eaters.

It hadn't been that hard of a fight because she had purposefully gone directly to the ministry after dropping Phoenix off. She was well aware that Albus had been at Hogwarts making sure that Harry's escorts were in place and that he would have extra protections on the train waiting in case of danger. He'd been too busy to interfere with a simple guardian switch that the minister himself approved once Althea pointed out Sirius was Harry's magical guardian as per the Potter's will.

It was actually dealing with her daughter's problems that were causing her concern. Her daughter had been declared the Heir to the Black Family and Head of House Black only last week. With Sirius never having been convicted they needed to charge him with something and proceed with a trial. Since all the evidence from twelve years ago was gone, including Sirius's wand, the ministry had finally convicted him of escaping from ministry custody. Once he was a convicted offender it had finally been legal to remove his access to the family vaults. According to the Goblins, Sirius had already managed to make a huge withdrawal back in the summer but that money would have to last him for as long as he was out of prison now.

On top of that was the issue with the 'Daily Prophet'. The editor had been replaced once Althea had bought up enough smaller shares to have between her own family interests, along with Harry and Phoenix's, to own over 50 percent of the publishing company that owned the paper. The company owned more than just the paper, it also owned a book publishing operation and a music recording studio for magical musicians. That reminded her of something that her daughter had sent her. She reached in and pulled out the letter. Stubby Boardman, there was a name she had not expected to see again.

One of Sirius's hidden talents had been the ability to sound an awful lot like Stubby Boardman when he imitated the man or sang. It had been a running joke among the Marauder's that you would never see Sirius and Stubby in a room together because they were the same person. Lily used to call it their Clark Kent gag (It had taken a few months for Lily to explain that comment to her and it had been a fun afternoon at the movies to see the movie Superman). Sirius at one time had gotten their group of friends into a fancy restaurant by pretending to be Stubby in disguise when the restaurant had 'lost' their reservations. Someone had obviously overheard the rumor or been taken in by his deception at some time and remembered it. She shook her head as she remembered the prank, and soon she was remembering other such jokes the group had liked to play. It was a long time before she was pulled out of her thoughts by her daughter and godson's return.

Harry had been having the time of his life looking through all the different equipment and things trying to decide on what to do about a broom. He'd asked about the price on the Firebolt but quickly backed away when he was told the outrageous cost, instead he'd picked up an order form and walked away feeling slightly let down.

He met up with Phoenix about halfway down the alley. They'd met and talked for a few minutes. They shared what they had bought for their friends to ensure they didn't get the same things for them. Harry had told her about looking at brooms but he couldn't decide what one to get. Phoenix suggested he talk to Ron and pick one out after Christmas. Harry had agreed that Ron would be the best person to help him pick one out and they had continued on their way separately.

Phoenix had spent some time talking to Mr. Ollivander about wands and their properties. She had asked him questions about some of the results Neville had had since starting Hogwarts. Ollivander had admitted that using his father's wand was likely the cause of all his troubles as the fit seemed to be one of the worst he'd heard of. She quickly made a deal for a gift certificate as a way of thanking Neville for all his help so far this year. It was much more expensive than any of the other gifts she had planned to pick up, but she was sure Harry would agree to give it to him from both of them.

An hour after they ran into each other on their ways to opposite ends of the alley they both met up in the Owl shop. Harry picked up some treats and Phoenix just waited for him. The two then headed over to meet Althea and have lunch in muggle London before they headed out to Althea's temporary home. It was a small two bedroom flat near Charring Cross.

The apartment was nicely furnished with mismatching furniture. It was obvious that she was only staying here part-time. "I sold the house." She explained to the children as she let them in. "I decided to rent this place until June so I could have a place to stay as I need it." She gave them a quick tour. "Harry this will be your room." She said showing them the second bedroom. It was smaller than Harry's own room at Privet Drive, but the room looked much more inviting than even his Aunt's guest room. "I hope it's alright." Althea said.

Harry looked around and nodded absently. "It's fantastic!" He said in awe. The room was done in a tasteful blue with regular white walls. Althea had made an effort to cover them with some animal pictures in frames from the local department store. It was obvious they weren't the expensive type but he appreciated the effort she had put in for a place he was only going to stay in for one night.

Althea smiled and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "We are going to share but I used magic so you'll have your privacy." She said as she brought them both to the other room. The room had been magically expanded and a wall had been erected in the middle of the room and two side hallways in front of the where the door opened. On either side of the center wall was a bead covered opening that opened into identical rooms with a single bed and dresser. One room had a desk in it and the bed was in a dark wine color while the other was light purple.

"It's fine mum." Phoenix smiled at her.

Althea looked relieved. "Well good. I really didn't think too far ahead when I picked this place for myself and did all this last week. It's not like the two of you can share a room."

Harry's eyes widened as he looked over at his "sister" while she looked at her mother with amusement. "I'd imagine that would be frowned upon in England."

Althea glared at her. "It's not like either of you is six anymore either."

Phoenix laughed. "I had totally forgotten about that!"

Harry tried to keep his blush under control. "Something I should know about?"

Althea blushed and walked away while Phoenix watched her go with amusement. "A boy asked if I could sleep over once when I was six and mum didn't think anything of it and said yes." Harry looked surprised. "What mum hadn't been expecting was that I'd have to share the bath with him and his sister, who was four."

"Ok, so what was so bad about that?" Harry asked warily.

Phoenix laughed. "Well it made me wonder why boys were built differently. And I waited until after she picked me up from his house the next day and we were walking through the local grocery to start asking my questions… loudly."

Harry tried to keep himself from laughing. He couldn't do it, he starting imagining poor Althea's face as she started getting asking question about male anatomy by a six year old Phoenix. She joined in. Once they recovered they went to their rooms to begin wrapping their gifts. Althea made dinner and the three had a chance to talk about the news from the past few months.

Harry and Phoenix tried to steer the conversations away from anything that revolved around Sirius Black. Althea got a pained look on her face whenever the topic was mentioned, although she was curious about the interactions of Snape and Phoenix on Halloween.

"You hugged him?" Harry had gasped in disbelief. "And he still let you come to me?"

Phoenix blushed. "I was just so relieved that I wasn't going to be alone that I didn't think about it."

Althea smiled. "Severus is not as bad as you think he is Harry." She got a faraway look in her eyes. "He made some bad choices as a teenager. Those choices made it impossible for him to work in the field of potions in the ways he wanted. Hogwarts is his only chance to do some good."

"You knew him?" Harry asked curiously.

Althea snorted. "Your mother introduced me to him as her "best friend" about a week after school started. She knew him before Hogwarts. In fact he was the one to tell her she was a witch."

Harry and Phoenix both looked surprised at the news. "But mum was muggleborn, how could he have known?"

Althea looked back at the two. "He saw her do accidental magic one day in the park. He explained everything to her so her letter wasn't a surprise. His mother even explained a few things to your grandparents. Lily said that because they had time to get used to the idea before they were expected to ship Lily out to Hogwarts that it made the transition easier."

As Harry lay in his new bed that night he turned the conversation over in his head. If Snape had known his mum and had been her friend, why did he hate her son so much? Was it because he looked so much like his dad? Would Snape still hate him so much if he looked more like his mother?

The next morning had the three spending time together the way a family should, or at least the way Harry hoped families normally did. Althea had made breakfast with some help from Harry. Afterwards Phoenix washed the dishes and put them away. As a group they decided to go out into Muggle London for the morning (so there was no need for disguises) and take in some of the muggle Christmas sites. The West End Christmas Lights displays included some wonderful Christmas scenes in the windows of the stores, ice skating was available around that area, and Santa's Grotto in Harrods were the things they agreed to. Harry would have liked to see Trafalgar Square but Althea said it was for a later time.

Harry felt a little strange. He felt like he was too old to be enjoying the sites as much as he was. At thirteen he was too old to be sitting on Santa's knee but he laughed and blushed when Phoenix had stood in line and asked Santa if her brother could be in her picture with her. Harry was dragged to stand beside her as she sat on the old man's knee and the muggle woman dressed as an elf took their picture. He blushed even harder when the woman gave him a candy cane for being such a good sport. Althea insisted on buying some frames for the picture and getting two extra copies.

In Harrods, Althea had also surprised him with an early Christmas present. She handed him a gift certificate for new trainers and three pairs of jeans and t-shirts. Phoenix handed him one for a new jacket and 25 pounds of 'mad money'. He had been grateful, he hated Dudley's cast-offs, even shrinking charms could only do so much for clothes that large. Harry had never had a chance to pick out his own clothes before he quickly realized that asking for Phoenix's help would have him in detention for the rest of his life. The first shirt she'd picked out was plain black on the front but the saying on the back had said 'Excuse me, but do I look like someone who cares?' Althea had laughed making Harry wonder if she was as crazy. Phoenix picked up a shirt that said 'Oh crap! You're going to try and cheer me up aren't you'? He did finally agree to get a "Murphy's Law" t-shirt; he figured that the shirt would at least be useful to Ron in his divination class, especially since Harry was planning to drop it as soon as possible.

They had lunch and dropped off their purchases before going ice skating for an hour. Phoenix and Althea were good enough skaters that they enjoyed the experience. Harry had trouble staying upright. They finally got him started by having Harry skate between them. Althea and Phoenix did the propelling while Harry learned how to move his feet to move forward and how to keep his balance. By the end of the hour he was capable of standing and going forward alone, he was still having a little trouble turning without hitting the barriers around the rink.

They arrived at the brick townhouse that belonged to the Tonks family just before three that afternoon. Dinner itself had been quite boring. The adults had a lot in common but the children did not. In the end Phoenix had performed a small ritual to reinstate Mrs. Tonks into the Black Family. Afterwards they visited Trafalgar Square as a family to see the lights before saying goodbye to the family and floo'ing back to Hogwarts. It was a tearful goodbye between Phoenix and Althea. Harry wasn't left out the goodbyes or the tears from Althea. She promised to see them on Easter Break before she finally used her portkey to Heathrow Airport.

Christmas morning dawned, and Harry was awoken by Ron throwing a pillow at him. Phoenix was luckier in that Hermione had just let Crookshanks walk up her back and start playing with her hair. The cat was gentle but the sensation of a purring cat pawing her head was just strange enough to pull her from her sleep. Phoenix had managed to wake only long enough to push the cat away.

"Tell Crookshanks to take a hike Hermione. I don't really feel like celebrating Christmas right now." She said rather morosely.

"I'll let Harry know where you are then." She asked with a concerned tone.

"Yeah sure." She mumbled.

Harry excitement over the Firebolt was dashed by Hermione's insistence that the broom might have come from Black seeing as Harry already had gotten two gifts from Althea and their wasn't a note with the broom. The fight between Crookshanks and Scabbers had further enraged the trio and had them all feeling the tension as they headed down to lunch.

To Ruin Christmas even further, Hermione had gone to Professor McGonagall who had just walked away with the best present Harry had ever been given. It was like being back with the Dursleys, only crueler. At least they had never given him anything worthwhile to begin with.

It was well after lunch before Phoenix decided to drag herself out of bed. She knew her mother wouldn't be happy with her for moping but the more she slept the faster the day would go by. She was very hungry by then and decided to make a quick trip to the kitchens when she came down to the common room to find Harry and Ron steaming mad at Hermione.

"Harry what are you doing in here?" Phoenix asked innocently. "I thought you'd be down on the pitch with your new broom."

All three quickly turned towards her. "You bought the Firebolt?" Harry gasped in disbelief.

Phoenix's smile spread wide across her face. "It's what you wanted right?" She laughed at the shocked expressions on their faces. "Officially Santa gave it to you." She explained. "It's tradition to give one major gift from the whole family to someone else from Santa. Why, is there a problem?" She asked as Hermione looked about to burst into tears and Ron was so red it looked like he was about to blow his top.

"SO BLACK SENT IT HUH?" Ron roared at Hermione. "Just couldn't have been from Phoenix or Althea because they had already gotten him a gift."

Hermione began to cry and stutter that she was sorry before she raced by Phoenix and headed up the stairs. "What is that all about?" Phoenix asked.

Harry looked as mad as he'd ever been. "She assumed since it didn't have a card that it had to be from Sirius."

Phoenix snorted. "Not likely. He doesn't have access to that kind of money anymore."

"Yeah well maybe we can get it back from McGonagall then." Harry fumed.

"IT GOT CONFISATED WITHOUT EVEN ASKING IF I HAD SENT IT." Phoenix screeched. "THEY BETTER NOT STRIP IT!" She fled out the portrait with Ron and Harry close behind. They caught up with McGonagall just before she reached her office. "Professor! Wait, I gave the broom to Harry." She panted.

Professor McGonagall looked skeptical. "Ms. Black, Ms. Granger assured me that you had not given Mr. Potter a broom, that you had given him a shoulder and arm pad for Hedwig."

Phoenix looked puzzled. "Yeah and I gave him his new muggle jacket and some muggle money yesterday too. What's your point?"

Professor McGonagall began to look flustered. "Are you saying that you bought Mr. Potter several gifts?" Harry behind her looked a little embarrassed by the question. He'd noticed there were more things from Phoenix and Althea beyond yesterdays and he now felt he'd done something wrong only getting them the one gift each.

"Yeah, I always buy more than one gift for family, don't you?" She asked in a rather put out voice. "Besides that one is from mum and me, but our family tradition says it has to be delivered without a tag because it's officially from Santa. I have one like it upstairs too from mum and Harry." If she had seen Harry's face she would have known her mum hadn't told him that but as it was she had her Back to Harry, McGonagall did not and it raised her hackles a bit.

"I will have to verify this with your mother before I can in good conscious give back the broom." The professor said stiffly.

Phoenix was angry as were the boys they began yelling about the unfairness of it all but Phoenix's eyes were blazing. "So you're calling me a liar!" She hissed.

McGonagall looked rather annoyed at this point. "Unless you can offer proof that you bought this broom."

Phoenix snarled. "I can. I have the receipt still in my bag upstairs."

McGonagall eyes widened but she reluctantly followed the group up to Gryffindor tower. "Why did you not tell Ms. Granger you gave him the broom?"

Phoenix snorted. "Because she never asked before she went to you."

"Phoenix slept in." Harry added frostily. "She wasn't there when Hermione decided she was right and that was the end of it and she didn't care what we thought."

"I don't know why we were surprised that she up and ran to you." Ron groused, "The bloody know-it-all."

"This is an expensive broom." McGonagall began.

Phoenix shrugged. "I have the Black fortune at my disposal; why not use it to make the people in my life happy."

"Yeah and it's not like Sirius is going to have over a thousand Galleons to spend on a broom when he can't access the vault anymore." Harry added. Ron gasped at the amount of money being discussed but he wasn't about to complain about it. Phoenix had given him a nice international standard quaffle.

McGonagall had to admit that it was very unlikely now that these facts had been presented to her that the broom had been delivered from Sirius Black. When the group entered the common room they saw Hermione crying her eyes out on the couch. Phoenix ignored her and hurried up the stairs to her trunk to take out her shopping bag. Near the top of the bag rested the receipt for the broom. She brought it down for the Professor who gave Harry back his broom.

"I'm terribly sorry for taking the broom in the first place Mr. Potter." She said formally. "I will leave you to enjoy what's left of your Christmas." She left without saying a word to Hermione.

The boys were ecstatic and ran from the tower begging Phoenix to join them. She had waved them off and said she would see them after she had opened her own gifts. Once the boys were gone she turned to the crying girl she had looked up to. "You get on Harry and Ron's cases all the time about jumping to conclusions and yet what you did just now was worse than anything they have ever done." She said grimly to Hermione.

"I honestly thought he was in danger." She hiccupped through her tears.

"I know." She said before hugging Hermione. "That's why I am going to talk to the boys and get them to see reason, once they get a chance to calm down."

Hermione tightened the hug and cried harder. "I don't deserve it."

Phoenix sighed. "You do. You give up so much for them, but they are boys and it needs to be pointed out to them before they see it." She pulled back as Hermione's grip lessened.

"Do you think Harry will forgive me?"

"Hermione you need to understand what it is you did." Phoenix hesitated. "What has Harry told you about the Dursleys?"

"Oh those evil people." Hermione said pulling back and wiping her eyes. "They were neglectful of him that's for sure."

Phoenix shook her head. "They were cruel and neglectful."

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth as she looked even more shocked and disturbed. "I should have guessed. Why didn't I-"

"Because he didn't want you to know." Phoenix interrupted her. "I only know because mum knew Petunia and she knew what that evil woman had put Aunt Lily through."

Hermione hesitated. "How bad…" She didn't want to finish the question.

Phoenix shook her head. "Not my place to say but bad enough that Hagrid gave him his first birthday present he can remember and that first year was the first time he was allowed to be a part of the Christmas festivities around him."

Hermione looked even further horrified. "And I had his best gift ever taken away…"

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah, but at least it was for a good reason."

Hermione nodded. "I guess the chocolate frogs and butterbeer case were from you too right." She said softly. "They didn't have a note either."

"Phoenix head snapped up. "Those aren't from me." She tore up the stairs with Hermione close on her heels to her own dorm to open her gifts; she found two without a note instead of the one she expected. One gift consisted of the advanced potions books and ingredients for them that she had told her mother she wanted since she wasn't taking classes with Snape. The other like Harry's was a case of Butterbeer, chocolate frogs and a scarf with some type of charm on it.

The two girls looked at each other carefully. "What do you think?" Phoenix asked her. "I have a supply of Bezoars and phoenix tears. Should we try them?"

Hermione bit her lip. "I'll try it, that way you can heal me if we need to."

Phoenix nodded her head and watched as Hermione hesitantly took a sip of the butterbeer. She waited a moment and then took another sip. "It's really warm and frothy, but nothing tastes differently."

"Maybe it's a two part poison." Phoenix suggested.

Hermione nodded sadly. "It would make sense since there seems to be two things." She bit into the chocolate frog and again the two girls waited. After fifteen minutes they began to relax.

"You know, mum might have decided to give us a little extra since she couldn't be with us this year, and it being Harry's first Christmas as part of our family." Phoenix offered as an explanation.

"Yes, that is possible. Still I'd feel batter if we tested Harry's stash too." She admitted. Phoenix agreed and made her way up to the third year boys' dorm. When they got there they could see two bottles had been opened already and several chocolate frog packages were littered on their beds.

"I guess we're too late." Phoenix said sadly.

Hermione nodded. "But they must have had them this morning before lunch, they haven't had time since."

Phoenix turned to her and nodded. "They had to have been from mum then." Hermione agreed and the two girls headed in opposite directions. Phoenix headed out with her nice scarf around her neck, noticing the warming charm expand to cover her torso and a slightly uplifting feeling as a mild cheering charm made her feel better.

* * *

A/N: I have never been one to get many reviews. Any idea on how one gets people to tell you how they think the story is going?

BTW Thank you to the few of you who are giving regular feedback, without it this story would likely have stopped being as much fun to write as it has been so far. :)


	10. PoA Chapter 9

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © & tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 9 – Scabbers and Loki

Hermione and Phoenix had made a pact not to discuss their experiment with the boys. Phoenix did however bring up the rift between Hermione and Harry when she was showing him the newly finished Marauder's Den the first weekend after the beginning of term.

"So what do you think?" She asked him.

Harry looked around at the two desks that were facing one another on one side of the room, underneath a bright lantern. There was a couch and an overstuffed lounge chair with a footrest around a coffee table in front of a fireplace on the opposite side of the room. "It's perfect!" He gasped.

Phoenix threw herself down into the chair and swung her legs up over the edge of the footrest to recline in a relax position. "Take a load off Harry." She said as she waved her hand towards the couch.

Harry sat back and took a deep breath. "I think this is the first time I've been relaxed since Althea left." He too swung his legs up so he was lying down on the couch with his hand behind his head. They sat in comfort and silence for several minutes.

"Still upset about the broom?" Phoenix asked lightly.

Harry closed his eyes and moaned. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Phoenix smirked, knowing he couldn't see her. "So it is ok that your best friend is crying herself to sleep every night as long as you don't have to think about it." She asked him in a mournful voice.

Harry tilted his neck back so he could look back towards her. She had schooled her face to a look of concern. "Hermione is really that upset about it?" He asked softly. Phoenix nodded her head at him. Harry took a moment to watch her face before he settled himself down and stared at the patterns of light being given from the fire up on the ceiling. "Good, maybe next time she'll listen to me instead of assuming she knows everything about everything."

Phoenix snorted. "That's Ron talking."

Harry scowled at her. "I am capable of thinking for myself."

Phoenix laughed with a touch of irony. "I know. I just wish you would more often."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Harry glared at her.

Phoenix sighed and shook her head at him. "Look Harry, I'll admit I don't really like Ron much recently."

"No kidding." Harry snapped sarcastically.

She scowled back at him. "Hermione did something wrong and she admitted it. But Ron is a bully and a bastard to everybody around him if they dare disagree with him and it's getting out of hand." She pointed out to him.

"He is not a bully." Harry jumped up to defend his friend.

"He bullies Hermione all the time and me too, when you aren't around to correct him." She lifted her chin stubbornly.

Harry looked away uncertainly. He caught Ron saying things against Hermione and Phoenix all the time, especially recently. Harry usually just let Ron talk without paying too much attention to what he was ranting about. Sometimes he even told Ron off for it, but only when the girls were there. Sometimes he could see Ron's point of view but he still didn't like the way Ron talked down to them. "I'll talk to him about it." He mumbled.

Phoenix snorted and shook her head in disgust. "Sure you will."

Harry looked away, ashamed that he hadn't stood up to Ron from the beginning. "This isn't about Ron anyway. It's about Hermione and her actions. Ron didn't get my broom confiscated, Hermione did!"

"And she apologized for it. At least she had a good excuse. She honestly thought your life was in danger." She said as she stared into the fire. "What would have been Ron's excuse if she had been right? What if dad didn't know that he couldn't access the vaults anymore and had bought and cursed the broom?"

Harry was silent as he thought about it. He remembered the fear he felt as his broom bucked under him during his first game in his first year. He remembered beginning to fall when the dementors attacked. Yes he was aware of the dangers of a cursed broom and the likely death he'd have faced from a fall from a broom as fast as a Firebolt.

"I can see his eulogy for you 'well at least he had a chance to ride a Firebolt'." She added with a sneer. "Now that the curse has been lifted maybe I can try it."

"Enough." He whispered. "I'll talk to her when I am less angry about it."

Phoenix sighed and decided to stop her defense of Hermione. Antagonizing Harry in the Den was not something she wanted to do. The point of the place was for them to get away from everyone else and relax. "Anyway the Elves will get us anything we want. We just have to call to them and they'll answer." She said as a way of changing the topic back to the original conversation they were having.

Harry nodded morosely. "So we could hide in here for days if we wanted to."

Phoenix nodded. "It'd be easy to get a bed in here if you ever need to flee the dorms I guess. Or you could just sleep on the couch." She said frowning as she looked around at the room, "Except for a bathroom that is. I think rearranging the plumbing would be a bit much."

"There's one on this floor, but no showers." Harry agreed.

Phoenix looked at him carefully. "You're not thinking of moving in here are you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, just thinking out loud." He said with a grin. "There are times when living with four other guys can be a bit much though… A guy can crave a little privacy once in a while, right?"

"I can definitely understand that!" She said thinking of her own roommates, who were still giving her the silent treatment. "Just no girlfriends without prior warnings!"

Harry chuckled and looked down at his watch. "I promise no girlfriends… Sorry, but I have to cut out on you Phoenix. Uncle Moony and I have an appointment." He said as he realized he had about fifteen minutes until he was to meet Remus for his Patronus lessons.

Phoenix smiled and waved his apology away. "Say hi for me will you."

"Sure thing." Harry said. She reached out and grabbed him into a short hug. "See you later." He said before he slipped out into the hall.

Phoenix turned and looked at the room happily. She pulled her wizarding wireless out of her backpack and set the volume on low. Sitting at her desk she pulled out her homework to finish in the comfort of the Den, without the noise and company of the other Gryffindors in the common room.

Phoenix and Harry were exceptionally grateful for the Den in the following weeks. Ron had not taken Harry's warning to stop bullying Hermione well. It had started that same night after Harry's lesson with Lupin. Ron had snapped at Hermione about her cat.

"Your bloody beast was pawing at our door again. If I see it up there again I'm going to curse it." Ron had snarled.

Hermione had not been good at keeping her emotions in check recently and had taken a step back in surprise. Harry was quick to step between them. "Enough Ron, the cat didn't get into the dorm, did it?"

"It's only a matter of time before that thing does get in and kills Scabbers." Ron snarled. His fist clenched with his rage.

Harry looked at his best friend sternly. "Crookshanks isn't the only cat that has tried to go after Scabbers since we've been in Hogwarts. Why are you so put out over him and not the others?"

Ron glared at Hermione who was standing defiantly behind Harry. "Scabbers is sick! He doesn't need all the added stress of that huge thing attacking him."

"For Merlin's sake Ron, that rat of yours has been on death's door since we met." Hermione chimed in. "He was balding and slept all the time right from the start!"

Harry had to agree with Hermione's assessment but given that Ron's face was quickly matching his hair he hoped to cut this off before he blew out the windows of the tower with his screaming. Mrs. Weasley wasn't the only one that had the lung capacity of a clutching dragon. "The rat is beyond old Ron." Harry said quietly trying to draw Ron back to being normal. "So again why are you so angry about Crookshanks and not the other cats in Gryffindor tower?"

Ron's face was twisted in anger. "The rest of them aren't relentless in their hunting of my rat!"

"Crookshanks is not constantly stalking your rat Ronald." Hermione yelled back. "I know it because he spends most of his time outside! I know because I put him out when I leave in the mornings!"

"Everyday that damn cat is trying to get into the dorms." Ron yelled back at her.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not every day Ron." Harry cut in firmly. "It's only about once a week. The other cats in the male dorms try to get in more than that."

"They don't try to turn the door handle!" Ron yelled as he turned his glare to Harry. "And since when are you on her side?"

Harry had to give Ron that one point regarding Crookshanks intelligence. He'd been surprised to find the cat had figured out how to open a closed door. If the locking charm hadn't been in place the cat could have opened the door. The accusation that he was taking Hermione's side for a change worried Harry. "She's right Ron, Crookshanks isn't stalking Scabbers exclusively. And it's not her fault the cat is so bloody smart."

"She should never have bought the stupid thing." Ron yelled, his face growing even redder. If his color changed anymore he'd be moving into Vernon's territory of the color puce.

"Crookshanks is her familiar!" Harry yelled at him. "If anyone should give up their pet it's you since Scabbers isn't bonded to you." He added emphasis to his point by pointing his finger at Ron's pocket where Scabbers was shivering.

Ron's fist clenched and he started to raise it. Harry raised his arms to defend himself before he realized he had his wand in his hand. "Planning to hit me for disagreeing with you Ron?" Harry asked with ice cold fury in his voice. It was a tone that he wished he could use with the Dursleys.

Ron had backed away from the glowing wand tip and his color faded to a deep red. Without saying another word Ron had turned and left the room. Harry's shoulders fell as he lowered his wand. He was not surprised when he felt Hermione place her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry Harry. I never meant for…"

Harry pulled his arm from her grip still not calm from the confrontation. The adrenalin in his body still was causing him to look for any other fighting to be done. "He was in the wrong Hermione." He said with a tone of finality to it. "I'm through tiptoeing around the two of you, trying to keep the peace. Either you learn to deal with your problems with each other without pulling everyone else into it, or you can both just leave me the hell alone." He growled.

He heard her sob and half fall into the couch behind him. "I never meant to come between you."

Harry shook his head, still not looking at her. "You and Ron have been at each other's throats from day one. I'm just sick and tired of it. It has nothing to do with you coming between Ron and me."

"I'm sorry I ruined your Christmas." She whispered. "I never wanted to hurt you."

Harry moved away from his place where he was watching the stairs to see if Ron was truly gone, his pulse finally slowing down as he calmed. Looking at her from the corner of his eye he could see that she had pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them in a tight ball, her head was bowed so that her tears were falling onto her muggle jeans. "I know that… I just can't push the hurt aside that easily. I'm sorry if that hurts you in return." He said much softer than before, but still not overly friendly.

"I don't expect you to forgive me." She sobbed.

Harry couldn't stand to see her crying so hard and he uncomfortably sat down near her feet. "Look, things are going to be fine, I just need to be allowed to make my own mistakes Hermione." He explained.

Hermione looked up at him with some small flicker of hope in her eyes. "I can't help worrying about you Harry. I mean you have a killer out there looking for you."

Harry shook his head as he looked down. "And I have a guardian to look after me now Hermione." He looked off into the fire. "Maybe I'm at fault for making you feel like I needed a keeper these past few years, but things are changing. If I can defeat Voldemort three times and kill a Basilisk by the age of twelve… I think I've earned the right to make my own choices about my life don't you?"

Hermione nodded as she wiped her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve from her jumper. "We're all growing up." She said sadly.

Harry nodded at her. "At different rates it seems." He frowned as he looked back at the stairs. Ron's level of maturity suddenly seemed to be at the heart of the matter. Harry was aware that girls matured faster than boys both physically and emotionally, and Hermione was almost a full year older than him. With the hardship Harry had endured, he was more mature than Ron who as the youngest boy seemed to be smothered by his mother. His level of maturity seemed more on the level of Seamus and Dean. Neville whom Harry had begun to really know this year seemed more in line with Harry and Hermione's level. It bothered him to know he was beginning to outgrow his best male friend.

After that night everything Ron could possibly find fault with Hermione for was harped on, even after Harry told him that he didn't want to hear it anymore and Ron should grow up. He was grateful that Hermione was at least giving him the room he needed by spending more time in the library to do her homework. Their relationship was improving and he had finally let go of all his anger over the Firebolt. He even helped her when he had a little spare time looking into Buckbeak's defense.

Harry was also intrigued by the mystery of Hermione's class schedule. It seemed others were beginning to notice that Hermione was taking too many classes, and according to Ernie MacMillan she was always in classes that it should have been impossible for her to be attending since she had been in classes with Ron and Harry during those same periods.

Of course this gave Ron something else to harp about; obviously she couldn't be trusted since she was keeping secrets from him. Harry was seriously wondering when Ron was going to stop being such a prat. Everyone in the dorm was tired of hearing about Hermione this and Hermione that. Without her Ron was in serious trouble, and if he didn't end the fighting soon he was in danger of flunking out of potions and charms. Without Hermione to tutor Ron, his grades were slipping into dangerous territory. Harry on the other hand was doing really well since he had a private place to study while Ron played chess in the common room with whoever else he could sucker into a games since Harry wasn't around.

Neville, Dennis and Ginny ended up spending quite a bit of time with Hermione in the library. Phoenix and Harry often joined them for research but when it came time to actually write the assignments they retreated down the hall to the Marauder's Den. Dennis was suspicious about where they were going off to together, but hadn't talked to Phoenix about it yet. Harry and Phoenix knew the Den couldn't be kept secret forever, but they wanted it to be theirs just a little longer. Once the fighting between Ron and Hermione settled down they would invite only a select few in. Phoenix was desperately hoping Ron would do something so stupid that Harry would have to dump him.

Phoenix had been distracted by her own problems too. Hagrid was in a deep depression again, this time over Buckbeak's coming trial. The elves were feeding the animals again and warming the paddocks. They told her that only one of the dogs was getting any food from Hagrid, and the hippogriff Buckbeak was the only one getting any attention from the half-giant, the rest had been released back into the forest.

The idea that there was two dogs when Harry had insisted there was only one had seemed strange to her. She had been watching the hut for a while before she realized that Hagrid's dog was a giant boarhound, and not the wolfhound that she had mistaken for Fang. She had watched the wolfhound crawl under the hut after Hagrid and his dog had gone inside for the night.

"He's a stray!" She whispered to herself as she watched the dog in the growing darkness. She walked quickly and quietly over to the hut and crouched down to see under the hut with her wand tip lit dimly. She was surprised to find several blankets had been gathered to make a dog bed, with a growling dog looking at her wand.

"Hey boy." She whispered, not wanting to catch the attention of Hagrid since it was after dark and she was outside. The dog instantly stopped growling and looked at her curiously, even tipping his head to the side as if asking her 'what are you doing here'.

She crawled on her stomach under the very low hole so she was face to face with the dog. "I'm sorry boy, I didn't figure out you were on your own until now." She explained as she scratched under his chin the way the dog loved. "I promise I'll take care of you from now on, ok?"

The dog began to lick her cheek and she couldn't hold back a giggle. "Silly boy." She said with a cutesy voice. "We're going to have to come up with a name for you boy."

She pulled her feet in and the dog backed up so she could curl up under the hut with him. The hole was just big enough for both of them and the area was surprisingly warm. "No wonder you chose to live under here. It's really warm." She said with a touch of surprise. The heat in the hole was a different temperature from the outside but the heat wasn't radiating down from the floor. She shrugged it off figuring the elves must have cast a warming charm.

"Well boy have any preferences on a name?" She asked him. The dog seemed to wince at the question and she laughed very quietly. "I promise not to name you anything too cute." The dog seemed to be in a more receptive mood at that promise and he nudged her as if to say 'ok let's hear it'.

"I was thinking of my favorite Disney movie; I love Lady and the Tramp." The dog looked a little disgruntled at the idea, so she shook her head. "No, I guess Tramp isn't a good name for you." The dog nudged her again to get the next suggestion. "If you were a girl I'd call you Sage, because you seem to be so smart. But I think Loki is a good fit for you." The dog seemed to think before he seemed to lick her cheek again in agreement. "You are certainly smart and trouble." She winked. "I'll see you soon Loki."

Less than a week later Crookshanks finally got into the boys dorm room. He was found searching the room, but with a bit of blood splatter on Ron's bed the evidence was against the cat. Ron's yelling and screaming at Hermione required interference from Professor McGonagall to get him to back off. Hermione had insisted that Crookshanks hadn't killed the rat since there was no blood on him and he had been still in the room hunting the rat. He wouldn't have been doing that if he'd killed it. Every Gryffindor in third year and below seemed to take sides. The girls all supported Hermione and to be honest most of the boys did too, just not anywhere near where Ron could hear them. Harry had begun to avoid Ron more often. He wasn't sure about what had happened but he had no intention of getting involved. He kept himself busy with his lessons with Lupin and practiced in the Den.

Phoenix had been careful to not get caught going out to see Loki by Hagrid. With the additional cold snap at the end of January she had finally decided to talk to Harry about the dog.

"Harry, would you mind if I brought a dog up here?" Phoenix asked him one night when they both were doing some homework in the den.

Harry looked up at her from his essay on shield charms. "Why? Hagrid is taking care of Fang isn't he?" He asked slightly worried. He knew about the Buckbeak trial, but there was nothing they could really do. Hermione was trying, but so far everything she was finding was proving that the trial was just a formality and Buckbeak had no chance of acquittal.

Phoenix shook her head. "No, he's taking care of Buckbeak and Fang. But you remember when I said Fang looked sick and I made sure the elves were feeding him?"

"Yeah." Harry admitted. "I was surprised that Hagrid would neglect an animal like that. It's really not like him, but Fang looks much better now."

"Well the dog I thought was Fang turned out to be a stray, Hagrid might not even be aware there is another dog around." She admitted. "He's been living in a hole under Hagrid's hut. But with the weather so cold, I'm worried about him."

Harry's brow wrinkled as he thought about what Phoenix had been saying about the dog all year. "It's a big black dog, like Fang?"

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah, it's a wolfhound. I named him Loki." She smiled fondly. "He's really friendly and smart as a whip."

Harry looked around the room. "The room is a bit small for a large dog to live in Phoenix, not to mention this is the fourth floor and he'd have no way to get outside to go to the bathroom."

Phoenix smiled. "If I solve all that will it be ok?" She asked with an excited voice.

Harry chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Alright, who am I to deny you your own pet."

Phoenix jumped up and hugged him tight. "I'll get the elves to put in a dog door through the passageway."

Harry looked concerned. "What about Black?" He thought back to the fact that the convict was a smaller black poodle. "Couldn't he get in that way?"

Phoenix just shrugged. "I can get them to charm the flap to only allow Loki to pass through."

Two days later while Harry was with Lupin, Phoenix was showing Loki the new passageway that came out near the Quidditch pitch. "This passageway will lead to your new home Loki. It's keyed to only you so you can get to my favorite place in all of Hogwarts!" The dog looked curiously at the passage, so she gave him a push on his hindquarters. "Get in there." She giggled. "I'll meet you in the Marauder's Den." She called to him as she ran back towards the castle.

She ran quickly to the Den and bend down to call for Loki to come through. The dog was quick and flew into the room. If a dog could look astonished then that would be how Phoenix would describe the dog's actions for the next several minutes as he looked around. Phoenix stepped back and let the dog sniff and investigate the room. She sat down by the fire on the floor and let the dog come to her. He seemed to be fascinated by the mirror but slowly worked his way over to her. Finally he laid his head down in her lap and licked her hand.

She smiled and began to stroke the soft fur of his head. They stayed that way for quite some time before Harry stepped through the mirror.

"Hi Phoenix I…" Harry's voice trailed off as he looked down at the giant black dog sitting with her. "Is that Loki?" He asked as his eyes widened with a touch of fear. All year he had convinced himself that he wasn't being followed by the dog from Surrey, but the dog here reminded him of that spectral dog. The only difference being that this dog looked healthier; of course it had nearly five months of food. Having been starved himself he knew five months of good food could make anyone look much healthier and a dog had less body weight than a teenager.

He watched warily as she lowered her face to the dog's nose and rubbed it with hers. "Yes, isn't he gorgeous?"

Harry slowly approached the dog. Loki for his part raised his head and looked at Harry. He stilled as the boy approached him and slowly lowered himself to sit beside Phoenix. "Are you sure he's not magical?" He asked as he reached out to rub the dog's head.

Loki couldn't help but flinch as Harry brought his hand near. It had been a long time since he's smelled Remus's scent and the instincts of the dog were to submit to the more dangerous predator smell or to snap at it. Phoenix grabbed Harry's hand and cast a quick cleaning charm. "Sorry Harry, Uncle Moony's scent is going to make him afraid of you." She explained.

Harry nodded and this time held out his hand for the dog to come to him. Loki smelled him, and then licked his hand as if to give his approval of him. "I'm not sure if he has any magical creature blood in him, but I think he might be part wolf."

"What about a Grim?" Harry asked, as he pulled his hand back and let Phoenix give the dog her attention.

Phoenix shrugged. "Could be." She admitted. "But even if he is. I've been seeing him every week and I'm not dead so he can't be a real Grim."

Harry relaxed a bit and leaded back into the couch behind him. "I'm sure this is the dog that I saw in Surrey though." He said as he closed his eyes. "I don't know why I just feel it. It must be the eyes, its strange color for a dog."

Phoenix looked thoughtfully. "I wonder if he knew you needed to be protected and was watching over you?"

Harry opened one eye for a moment before he closed it. "Possibly, but then if he is spending so much time with you, that would suggest that you are in more danger than I am."

Phoenix sighed and gratefully accepted the love Loki seemed to be giving her with his nudges. "I think we both know that as long as those dementors are around we both are in a great deal of danger."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while before Harry updated her on his patronus lessons. He had managed to not pass out this evening and even produced a mist shield to drive the boggart dementor away. "The form is half there. Whatever it is, it's big too." Harry admitted.

"How are things with your friends?" She asked.

Harry stiffened a little as the uncomfortable subject came up. "I never realized just how isolated I've been since I started here." He admitted.

"How so?"

"Ron, Hermione and I have been through so much together, that I never really thought about the fact that I don't know many of the other students. I know their names and what houses they are in, but I never really got a chance to know many of them."

"It doesn't help when they think you've evil for things you have no control over." She said supportively.

"Yeah the Heir of Slytherin episode in second year was not fun." He admitted. "I just don't know why in first year I didn't meet more people."

Phoenix bit her lip in thought. "Well… you were the Boy-Who-Lived. Maybe they were intimidated. Then there was the whole Troll incident. Three first years taking on a fully grown mountain troll doesn't happen every day."

Harry got a small smile on his face as he thought about how close the three of them became after that. "I suppose that incident could have intimidated some people."

"So what are you going to do about it?" She asked him.

Harry shook his head. "I have no idea. I don't want to throw my friendships with Ron or Hermione away. We've been together through everything so far, but I'm not sure I can save them both at this point." He said dejectedly.

"Are you going to choose between them?" She asked with a tremor in her voice. Despite being angry with Hermione herself for a time, Phoenix had built a real friendship with her that was not based on the fact that Harry wanted her to over the past several weeks.

Harry shook his head. "Hermione understands and is still willing to hang out on occasion, but Ron takes everything I do as either being completely on his side or completely against him. But Hermione isn't forcing me to choose, which I have thanked her for." He added the last bit with a knowing grin. "I just really don't want to alienate Ron so much that it ends the friendship I have with him and his family."

Phoenix tried not to be exasperated by Harry's passive stance on Ron's antagonistic behavior. "You can't live your life trying to please Ron. And I am sure the other Weasleys won't abandon you just because Ron can't grow up."

Harry sighed. "I know. I just wish he could understand that the world isn't as black and white as he seems to think."

"Think he'll get over the death of his rat anytime soon?"

Several things happened as she said those words. Loki's head shot up in alarm. Harry had stood up in agitation as the real topic came up again and Phoenix fell back at the quick movement from both of them.

"I don't know… but if Scabbers isn't dead I'd like to give the bloody thing a heart attack and place it in the bloody prat's bed so he'll just shut the hell up." Harry snarled. Looking back he realized that he'd startled her and made her fall over. He helped her up and they moved to the couch. Both of them were paying more attention to each other so they didn't see the dog looking so crazed with anger that he was actually shaking.

"Is there any way we could use the Marauder's Map to find it?" Phoenix asked him.

Harry shook his head. "No, the map doesn't show pets." Harry pulled it out. He muttered the password and showed it to Phoenix. "See for yourself. We're on here and Loki isn't." He said without looking at the map as she passed it to her.

Phoenix looked down at it and saw her own name, Harry's and Sirius Black's standing in the Den where Phoenix, Harry and Loki were supposed to be standing. She looked up in horror as Loki transformed into Sirius Black. He looked nothing like the Black on the wanted posters that had gained her sympathy, but a healthy looking, almost respectable looking muggle holding a black wand pointed directly at them. Her look and gasp alerted Harry to the movement behind him. Harry turned but it was too late. By the time Harry was standing and had his wand in his hand Sirius had barked out the disarming hex and Harry's wand flew into Sirius's empty hand.

"Phoenix, get out of here." Harry ordered as he moved in front of her trying to block Sirius's shot at her.

She began to run towards the mirror but Sirius was quicker. He cast two body binds on the two students. Both of them were helpless as he picked up the map from where it fell from Phoenix's hand. "I don't want to hurt either of you." He rasped out. His voice harsh from disuse. "I just want to find Peter." He explained to them. "The map should help… yes the little rat can't hide from it."

Sirius started to look over the map while he was talking half to himself and half to the two children. "Pettigrew needs to pay for what he's done to all of us." He snarled. "The bloody traitor needs to die for what he's done."

His eyes flew over the parchment but stilled a little. "I should let Remus know the rat is still alive… He'll want revenge too… But he'll think I'm guilty, he was meant to though… James and I thought him the traitor." His eyes glazed over in memory.

After almost a minute he looked over at both children. "I'm sorry I had to do this to you both." He quickly cast cushioning charms underneath them and moved them so they were side-by-side lying on the floor. He used magical ropes to tie their hands and feet together and silenced them before he let them lose from the body-binds. He walked over and placed his hand on Phoenix's cheek tenderly and smiled fondly down at her. "I wish I had been there to see you grow up." Phoenix was so frightened she began to cry. Sirius wiped her tears away tenderly. "I'm so sorry for frightening you." He looked over to where Harry was fighting to free himself from the ropes, trying desperately to push himself closer to protect Phoenix in some way.

"I am sorry for leaving you as well Harry. You both should have had so much better." He said with a great deal of regret coloring his voice. "I should have waited to go after Peter for betraying you to Voldemort." Sirius said, almost crying himself with his remorse.

Just as suddenly as the gentle persona appeared it was replaced with the manic talking of the revenge crazed murderer. "I can't let you tell the ministry or Dumbledore about me until I get that Rat… He's hiding in the kitchens right now... Must let Remus know." With that he turned back into Loki and ran from the room, leaving Harry and Phoenix more confused than ever before about Black's motives, but glad that they were very much alive and unhurt.

* * *

A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed that last scene. I have no idea where it came from. I had a time-turner scene all planned out in my head and instead this came out.

Thank you for all the reviews I got on the last chapter. Each one helps to make me a better writer so I can give you all better stories :)


	11. PoA Chapter 10

**Harry Potter, Phoenix Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban **

**Third Year AU**

_Disclaimer:__ This is a non-profit fan-fiction piece. No money is being made from it._

_Harry Potter, names, characters and related indicia are © & tm Warner Brothers 2000 +._

_Any quotes from the Canon books are © Joanne K. Rowling 1997 +._

_**WARNING: UNEDITED**__….. Eventually I will repost with full edits and corrections, even I make mistakes ;)_

Chapter 10 – The Hunt Begins

Phoenix couldn't remember a time when she had been more frightened or confused in her life. She looked over to her side and saw Harry was still trying desperately to rub the ropes against the coffee table leg to loosen or break them. The longer they remained tied up the less frantic his efforts had become.

The silencing charms were beginning to fade meaning it had been almost an hour since Black had left the room, she could now hear Harry's heavy panting from his exertions as tiny whispers of sound. Harry's wrists were raw from the looks of them. Once more she placed her head back down so her forehead was on the cold flagstone floor. She could not believe she had been so foolish. She had been so sure the dog was harmless that she had endangered everyone in the castle with a deranged man.

Black had to be crazy. His rambling had made some sense to her. She knew who Peter Pettigrew was. He had been dead for longer than she had been born but for standing up to her dad and being killed by him he'd been awarded the Order of Merlin 3rd class.

Harry had finally given up and was lying on his side looking at her with hopelessness. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough." His voice came across as a whisper even though she knew he had to be trying to speak rather loudly.

Phoenix carefully shook her head. "I'm sorry I let him in. I should have known better. He was just too smart to be normal." She yelled with a great deal of anguish, the volume still only sounded out softly.

"Did you understand anything he was saying before he left here?" Harry asked. "I'm just wondering if he's going to come back, people are going to miss us if we are gone for too long and no one knows about the Den."

Phoenix bit her lip. "He'll come back… And I think I do know what it was he was talking about… Remember what I said about your dad, my dad, Uncle Moony and Peter Pettigrew?" She asked him.

Harry scooted himself closer to her so they were closer and face-to-face. "Them being the best of friends?" He guessed.

Phoenix nodded. "And that the other three became animagus to keep Uncle Moony company during the full moon because animals can do it safely while humans can't."

Harry thought back to the stories. "Right… dad was a stag, your dad a wolfhound obviously, and Peter was a rat."

Phoenix tried hard to remember what it was Ron and Hermione had said the Minister of Magic had admitted to about the viciousness of the attack on Peter. She couldn't remember and she knew it was important. "Do you remember what Hermione said about dad's attack on Peter back in 1981?"

Harry nodded with a bit of a shiver. "Yeah… that stuck with me the most. They found all the muggles dead but intact, but they only found a single finger left of Peter."

Phoenix's brow tightened. "They question is why would dad still be hunting Peter if he killed him all those years ago?"

Harry looked unconvinced. "Phoenix he spent over twelve years with dementors. He is likely insane. And there is still the chance he was even before, he was my parents secret keeper, remember?"

Phoenix nodded sadly. "Is it ok if I just wonder about a few things out loud?"

Harry tried to get a little more comfortable. The silencing charm was not the only one fading. The floor was becoming harder as well. "No go ahead, we don't have anything better to do." He said sarcastically.

Phoenix looked fearful but carried on. "If Peter is still alive, why would he keep hiding after dad went to Azkaban?" She asked. "He was proclaimed a hero! He could have come out and gotten his medal and any position in the ministry within reason."

Harry shrugged, "He was afraid of someone else." He suggested. "Someone bigger and stronger that he didn't believe was dead." He added, thinking of Voldemort.

Phoenix shook her head. "I don't think so. From what dad was muttering I think Peter was hiding from the Death Eaters. Bellatrix didn't think he was dead. She and her family attacked the Longbottoms trying to find out where you and Voldemort were."

Harry thought about Althea's comments about the four friends. His dad and Sirius were like brothers and Uncle Moony had every reason to stay as loyal as any friend because of what they had done for him. Peter had been a tag along… "Could he have been the secret keeper?" Harry asked, fearful of what her answer would be.

Phoenix swallowed hard as she tried to clear her throat of the emotions that were swirling in her chest. "Would you hate me if I said I hope so?"

Harry gave her a pained smile but shook his head. "No, I understand." His face hardened. "But we are talking hypothetical here."

Phoenix gave him a strained smile. "Well… we are alive, and dad did apologize for tying us up. I don't think he would have appeared if we hadn't opened the map."

Harry nodded. "I'll give you that much. But what about that fact that he's insane? He's hunting a dead man." He sighed as she began to look miserable once more. "Alright I'll play along." He said. Trying to cheer her up since he still couldn't break the ropes. "What are the chances of Peter being at Hogwarts if he was still alive?"

" It would be stupid to come here… unless he's a ghost or something, but you'd think someone would have noticed him before now if that was the case. But if he's looking for news Hogwarts is the best place to hear about it." She suggested.

"What else makes you think he's at Hogwarts?" Harry asked suddenly very curious.

"Dad said the rat was in the kitchen. And the map doesn't lie…Aunt Lily made sure it would trace human souls. Souls only know their true name." Phoenix explained.

Harry leaned back slightly as he thought about that bit of news. "What if I told you that Scabbers had a toe missing from his left paw?" Harry asked her.

Phoenix's eyes widen with comprehension. "Scabbers was sick because he knew Dad was hunting him, not because of Crookshanks!"

"Remember what they were saying about why the dementors are guarding Hogwarts. You dad was muttering in his sleep before he escaped! 'He's at Hogwarts' wasn't about me at all." Harry said as he too was more certain of their conclusions.

"If that sleep talking was about Peter… But how would he know Peter would be here? Do you have any idea how many rats there are in Scotland alone, never mind England?" Phoenix asked still confused.

"The Weasley's won a huge lottery prize this past summer." Harry explained as his excitement grew. "Their picture was in the paper! And Scabbers was on Ron's shoulder!" He remembered from seeing the picture so often since Ron was so proud of it.

Phoenix gasped. "And since he spent so much time helping Peter become an animagus…"

"I knew what he looked like immediately." A voice said from behind her. "The bloody traitor."

The two children looked up from each other and noticed Sirius was back. His facial expression was a mix of pride and frustration. Both were quiet as he looked them over from where he stood by the entrance of the hidden room. He levitated both on to the couch and sat across from them on the footrest.

"I think we should talk." Phoenix managed to say though her throat was threatening to close from her emotions that seemed to be running from fear through to compassion for the man in front of her.

"I agree with Phoenix." Harry said, he was easily the calmest of the group. "Perhaps you can untie us?" He suggested with a raised eyebrow.

Sirius looked hesitant, but after considering his options didn't see another way to deal with things. He cast a few spells around the room first and then removed the ropes and the remains of the weakened silencing spell. "The room is secured so we can talk in private, although we don't have much time before they come looking for you." Sirius said gruffly, his voice still quite scratchy from disuse.

"Did you get him?" Phoenix asked bluntly, her voice carried with it a sense of urgency that startled both Harry and Sirius.

"No." Sirius admitted, his frustration showing on his face and in the way he got back up to pace in front of the fireplace. "I managed to corner him, but there was a hole in the wall and he escaped into the pipes. I couldn't follow him." He used his hands to emphasis his struggles.

"Is he still on the map?" Harry asked. He wanted some type of proof that Scabbers was Peter before he let Sirius walk away. He'd never forgive himself if they were wrong and Sirius got away.

"No, he disappeared near the second floor bathroom." Sirius told him.

Harry nodded. "He must have headed for the Chamber of Secrets." He said to Phoenix. "The passageway to it is under Myrtle's bathroom." Phoenix nodded but Sirius looked bewildered.

"The Chamber of Secrets?" He asked hesitantly. Harry looked slightly embarrassed so he looked towards his daughter.

"Long story and we don't have time right now dad." She said much more confidently that she felt. _Must be that Gryffindor courage coming through_, she thought.

"How much have you two figured out?" He asked hesitantly.

Harry looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Althea started me wondering about the story the ministry told about you this past summer."

"Mum never did believe that you could betray Uncle James and Aunt Lily." She added quickly.

Sirius looked startled and his eyes teared slightly. "She believed in me?"

Harry and Phoenix both were nodding. "She even left the country when they wouldn't let her see you." Phoenix added.

"I thought that she…" His voice trailed off as a sob seemed to rattle up his throat.

Phoenix threw caution to the wind and ran over and hugged him tightly as she had so many times when he had been Loki. "It never made sense to her, but with Uncle Moony gone, the ministry saying you killed Peter and Uncle James she had nowhere she could go." Sirius held her tightly. His tears finally fell unchecked onto Phoenix's shoulder.

Harry watched the reunion with a touch of jealousy and confusion. He was happy for Phoenix, but at the same time he was frustrated by what they had only just theorized. Wondering even more than before if the man in front of him was innocent of all the things he'd been accused of had Harry changing the uncertainly he'd felt for the past several months change to complete rage at the man named Peter Pettigrew. A man who was not only responsible for the death of his parents, the need for him to live with his aunt and uncle, but he was also responsible for tearing Phoenix away from her father and ruining his friendships between his best friends all because he wanted to live life as a bloody rat! Phoenix and Sirius didn't even notice when he picked up the map and left the room. Harry need a second opinion and there was only one person in the castle that Harry trusted enough to ask.

Lupin was just about to go to his quarters for the night when Harry walked into his classroom with an extremely determined look on his face. In his hand was a very familiar piece of parchment. "Harry it's after curfew. What are you doing out?"

Harry waved him off. "Does this thing identify people by their soul names?" Harry asked waving the map for Lupin to see.

He nodded. "Yes. Your mother added that bit so she could find your father when he was in his animagus form."

"So If Peter Pettigrew was on this map that would mean he's here in the castle?"

Remus froze. He looked at Harry with a touch of fear. "You saw Peter on the map?

Harry shook his head. "No but someone else did." He said. "He was last seen heading below Myrtle's bathroom towards the chamber of secrets by way of the pipes."

Remus sat back down in his chair in complete astonishment. "We never knew about any passageways down there."

Peter would since Ron knows about it and has been there." Harry explained. "Ron was with me when I started towards the chamber last year to deal with the Basilisk and Riddle's diary."

Remus's face blanked. "You fought a Basilisk?"

Harry looked surprised. "Yeah, didn't Dumbledore tell you?"

"No, it must have slipped his mind." Remus growled.

"Trolls , Basilisks and Dementors, it seems to be a new creature every year." Harry said with a touch of apathy. "Still if Peter is here, what would that make you think?"

Remus looked ill at the casual manner in which Harry shrugged off the dangerous creatures he'd been up against. "How big was it?"

Harry sighed. "I didn't stop to measure it." Remus glared at him and so Harry mumbled, "Just less than 20 meters."

"TWENTY METERS?" Remus yelped, jumping from his chair. He came around and grabbed Harry's arm, ripping his sleeve up so he could see the scar left behind by the fang. "By Merlin." He gasped as he looked at the wound. "I had always wondered why his arm was different."

Harry looked at him curiously. "You can tell that's where the basilisk bit me?"

Remus fell back on his desk, using it to hold himself up. "It bit you?"

Harry nodded. "Sure… I had stabbed it through the roof of its mouth and it bit down. Fawkes cried some tears in it and it healed over." He was worried that Remus didn't seem to be regaining any color, in fact the man looked paler than before. He hoped Remus didn't pass out before he got a chance to get some answers about Sirius's theory.

"That would certainly explain the dark and light magic scent the wound emits." He said in a daze.

Harry snapped his fingers in front of Remus's face. "Hello… anybody home?" He said with a bit of a smirk, hoping to get back on topic. "Can you answer my questions now?"

Remus took a few moments to collect his thoughts but nodded. "Yes, yes, of course. What was it you wanted to know again?"

Harry sighed knowing that he was dropping too much on the man in one night but Harry was still reeling from his own realizations tonight and didn't think he should be leaving Phoenix alone with Sirius for too much longer. "If Peter Pettigrew was on this map that would mean he's here in the castle?" Remus took the map from Harry and started to look before Harry thought better of it. And snatched it back. Remus has surprised by his actions. "I asked a question." He said impatiently. The last thing he wanted was Remus to see Sirius on the map before he'd answered his questions.

"Where did you…" Remus began to ask.

Harry was starting to get really annoyed with the stalling. "Can you answer the question or should I just go looking for him myself?"

Remus snapped his head back. "If he's on there, it's as a ghost because Peter is dead." He said sadly.

Harry snorted. "Not if he's Scabbers, that rat was missing a toe. And rats don't normally fake their own deaths."

Remus looked at Harry with his forehead creased with concern. "Who is Scabbers?"

"Ron's rat," Harry explained, "who has been with the Weasleys for eleven or twelve years."

Remus closed his eyes and placed his hand to his forehead. "A common grey rat?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, all it did before this year was sleep and eat. But since Black's escape was announced it has been sick, stressed out and losing fur. Suddenly the rat disappeared and there was a little blood on Ron's bed, but a cat was investigating a small rat-sized hole in the wall." Harry didn't know if the last bit was true but if they were right and Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew than it was likely that was what Crookshanks was doing. Harry made a mental note to check that spot for a hole when he got back to the dorms.

When Remus's eyes opened they had changed from his normal coloring to reflective, animalistic amber. "Where is the entrance?" He snarled.

Harry took a step back. "On the second floor. But you'll need me to open the chamber, it requires a parselmouth."

Remus just nodded and pulled Harry from the room by his arm towards the second floor. His grip was slightly painful but Harry wasn't about to complain since he was doing something Harry wanted. He did his best to keep up so he wouldn't be dragged down the corridor or stairs towards Myrtle's bathroom.

Phoenix had thought that Harry had been standing back as he normally did and didn't notice he'd left until Sirius looked up and swore. She looked around for him and realized he'd left. "Where would he have gone?" Sirius asked her urgently.

Phoenix tried to think. There were a lot of things running about in her head. "He has enough doubts about the ministry's story that he won't go and report you." She said, her concern easily identified by the wavering in her voice.

"Who would he go to?" Sirius asked her as he grabbed her arms and gave her a small shake. "Who?"

"Uncle Moony." She said quickly and suddenly a little frightened. "He'll go to Uncle Moony with the map."

"The map will lead Remus to me." Sirius again swore and began to pace in front of the fireplace. " I wanted to catch the rat so I could be free, but Remus is going to come after me for kidnapping the two of you."

Phoenix shook her head. "No, Harry would never tell him that!"

Sirius sighed and looked down at his daughter whom he had grown to love over the past several months. "I should go." He said reluctantly. "I'll come back when I can and continue hunting him."

"You can't be free until he's found." Phoenix mumbled, her heart breaking knowing he would have to leave her.

"That's right." He said sadly. "Listen there is something you and Harry need to know, and let your mum know… We switched to Peter, but we didn't tell anyone. I was too obvious, so I was acting as a decoy. No one would ever expect James to entrust his family to Wormtail." He whispered and he held onto her.

"I understand." She said as her own tears fell. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'll try and stay as close as possible for now. There is a cave no too far from Hogsmeade that I can live in. It's off the map and I only found it in the past year so Remus won't think to look there."

"Will you be alright there?" She asked. "What about food and stuff?"

Sirius chuckled. "I'll come back during the day and still pretend to be Loki. He's never noticed me before and as long as Harry keeps the map, then I don't need to worry too much. Come find me tomorrow and let me know if Harry still has the map."

"Uncle Moony will have classes to teach during the day anyway so he can't be monitoring the map." She said with a touch of hope.

Sirius ran his hand over her hair and then pulled her into a tight, loving hug. "I've only just found you baby, I'm not going to leave you or Harry ever again, if I can help it."

"I know the man in charge of you case." She said softly and she explained about how he had watched over her over the summer. "Should I tell him about Peter?"

Sirius hesitated as he tried to remember if he'd ever met the man or heard of him while in prison. "Kingsley?" She nodded. "Can't say. I don't know him."

Phoenix looked uncertain. "I think he'd help us. He's honest."

Sirius looked concerned. "Not yet. When we catch Peter, then we'll call him."

Phoenix agreed and waited for her dad to transform and leave the Den before she walked over to her desk and began to pen a letter to Kingsley and her mother. Her dad might not trust Kingsley but Althea, Phoenix and Harry did.

By the time Harry and Remus had gotten to Myrtle's bathroom Remus had finally calmed down quite a bit and had stopped dragging Harry along. "How do you want to do this?" Harry asked him. "Fawkes had to carry us out last time because the pipes are steep." He said after he had hissed at the sinks to make them open up.

"Let's check the map again and see if you can get a fix on where he is?" Remus sighed as he looked down the darkened pipe revealed by the sinks. He had no intention of falling down a pipe blindly, after someone who was desperate enough to hide out as a pet rat for twelve years.

Harry looked and didn't see anyone in front of them on the map but he did see Snape coming down the hallway towards them at a fast clip. "Uncle Moony Snape's coming." Harry whispered. He turned to the sinks and hissed for them to close. The stone basins movement made Harry wince as the scraping sounded loud to him.

Remus almost growled in frustration. "Hide in a cubicle Harry. I don't want him to see you."

Harry quickly slipped into a stall and lifted his feet so he was standing on the seat. He listened carefully and could hear Snape's fast, angry steps closing in on the bathroom. The door slammed open and Harry nearly fell off his seat at the loud noise.

"What are you doing in here Lupin?" Snape snarled at him.

"I could ask the same question of you Severus."

"The headmaster had the Chamber entrance warded. I know Potter is here because he opened the thing just now."

Harry wasn't sure what to do. Remus was quiet. "Parseltongue isn't something that can be taught but it can be mimicked if one has a patient teacher." Remus finally said.

"You expect me to believe that you opened the chamber just now?" Snape sounded scornful.

"I do not care if you believe me or not." Came Lupin's reply.

"I want down into the chamber Lupin. Get the brat to let me in." Snape ordered.

Lupin chuckled. "I am sure if you asked, Harry would be only too happy to let you in."Harry had to silently agree he'd just never let the greasy bat old again. "However I will be glad to let you in now if you prefer. As I said I did mimic the sound just now."

"I would need my harvesting tools." Came the sarcastic reply.

"Tomorrow perhaps?" Lupin suggested.

"Fine, tomorrow." Snape's words were accompanied by the swish of robes and the door slamming shut. Harry watched as his most hated professor walked away but stopped at the end of the corridor as if waiting to see what was about to happen.

"Is he gone Harry?" Came a whisper.

"No."

"Whisper the password again from the stall. I want to see if the sink can hear you from there, softly."

Harry hissed as softly as he could and saw heard the entrance open once more. Once it was fully opened he hissed to close it. "Very good Harry." Remus whispered again. "I could hear you but I doubt anyone else will."

"Snape is still out there." Harry told him. "Phoenix is also making her way to Gryffindor Tower from the fourth floor." He mentioned with relief. He was sure Sirius wasn't going to hurt her but he was also glad to see he was gone from the Den as well.

"I'll leave and see if he follows me." Remus said, looking at the map to see where Snape was watching from. "I'll walk right by him and once he moves away you get up to Gryffindor tower as fast as possible. We'll continue the search tomorrow with Snape and hopefully Dumbledore."

"Ok." Harry said in agreement. He watch on the map as Remus walked back towards Snape, the two stood together for several minutes before Snape stalked off towards his dungeons and Remus headed up to his private quarters. It was only once Harry made sure that he was going to be safe getting up to the tower that he realized that Phoenix was on her way up to the wrong tower. While the Owlery entrance was close to Gryffindor tower it was also on the patrol routes for the prefects. He decided the best course of action was for him to get to the common room as fast as possible and wait for her there.

He used several hidden passageways to get up there unseen and waited in front of the fireplace in the common room. When she entered she looked around the nearly empty common room with relief. "Harry!" She cried as she ran across the room and threw herself into his arms. "You scared me when you disappeared."

"I thought you could use some time with your father while I checked out a few things." He explained as he looked her over. "Are you alright, I noticed you went to the Owlery first before coming back here."

"Yeah, I sent a note to Kingsley about what dad told us about Pettigrew." She said as they moved over to the couch. "Which reminds me; he said Peter was the secret keeper. And I think that makes a lot of sense."

Harry nodded. "I talked to Uncle Moony. He took a while to get to the point but we think Pettigrew is hiding in the Chamber of Secrets and he's arranging an expedition tomorrow with Snape and Dumbledore. Snape thinks they are going after the Basilisk's body."

"It might be a good idea to ask Professor McGonagall and Flitwick if Kingsley isn't here to join them." Phoenix added. "The more people involved the less likely the bloody rat will get away. And the more people on the lookout for him the better right?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "So you're sure about this?"

Phoenix nodded. "You didn't grow up hearing the stories of your parents and mine. They were always so loyal to each other and dad's hatred of his parents and theirs for him continued even after he was convicted. Considering my grandmother Black was known for praising Uncle Regulus for becoming a Death Eater it was one more of those strange things Mum could never explain."

"The more I hear about the past the more I wonder why there wasn't a trial." Harry said thoughtfully.

"I know. But the hard part of all this is going to be telling Ron he's been sleeping with a grown man for several years." She said with a straight face until Harry shuddered and she began to laugh.

The next morning was bright and sunny. Phoenix hoped it meant that things were going to go well that day. Harry looked slightly nauseated as he latched on to Phoenix's elbow and quickly left the common room.

"We should hurry and see Uncle Moony as soon as possible." Harry said as he hurried through the halls. They quickly ducked down the third floor corridor towards Lupin's office. Harry knocked loudly and they waited several minutes before Lupin opened the door.

"Harry, I wasn't expecting you both this early." He said as he ushered them inside.

"Harry said he explained everything to you last night." Phoenix started even before he had finished closing the door.

Remus quickly locked and cast a spell for privacy before he answered her. "I take it you are the one who saw Peter on the map then."

Phoenix glanced at Harry who shook his head, hoping she wasn't misinterpreting his gesture she nodded. "I was certainly surprised to learn his name was on the map." She said carefully. "I wrote mum and Kingsley about it last night."

Remus sighed and placed his head in his hands. "I can't believe Peter would do this without a good explanation."

"What explanation can there be?" Harry asked. "He's been hiding for years as a rat. And believe me he's known who I was for two and a half years. Ron and I have been friends since the first ride on the Hogwarts Express. He was there when Ron made a big deal out meeting me."

Remus looked even more depressed as Harry spoke. "I know Harry. It's much more likely that Peter would have been the ones who sold out your parents than Sirius but he wasn't the secret keeper. That's the main problem."

"You think Sirius recruited Peter?" Harry asked.

"WHAT?" Phoenix exploded. "HOW CAN YOU THINK THAT AFTER LAST NIGHT?" Both Harry and Remus were instantly on their feet facing an irate Phoenix. Around the girl a light wind was blowing lifting strands of her hair around her as her eyes blazed with power.

Harry grabbed her and felt a powerful force trying to push him away by the power soon surrounded him too, affecting him the same way. "I don't!" He shouted back at her. "I was asking a question damn it." He gave her a small shake.

Remus was standing back and beginning to put the pieces together. "How long did you talk to Sirius for?"

Both of the children turned towards him and power blazing in their eyes made him shiver but he held his ground as the power bled away leaving a very flustered pair of children. "Not too long." Harry admitted. "He only stopped us from reporting him being in the castle. He saw Peter in the kitchens but he escaped into the walls. Black came back and untied us and explained a few things. He and Phoenix needed a little time so I came and talked to you about what he'd said."

Remus was not as surprised as he should have been. After the number of bombshells Harry had dropped on him this year he was beginning to get used to it. At this point Harry could tell him Snape was as cuddly as a teddy bear and he'd half believe it. "He said he's hunting Peter?"

"And that Peter was the real Secret Keeper, he was a decoy." Phoenix added defiantly.

Harry nodded. "And to be honest I can't think of any other reason he wouldn't come out of hiding. He has to know the Death Eaters are going to blame him for leading him into a trap regardless of the rest of the world believing he's a hero." He said with disgust. Harry had spent most of the past night tossing a turning as he turned over the things he'd learned last night. Even without proof of seeing Peter on the map for himself, he'd thought things through and what Sirius had told them seemed much more likely than as other explanation that he could think of.

Remus sighed and looked very far away, lost in his thoughts. "We should head down soon."

Phoenix seemed particularly anxious to get down to breakfast. "I'm hoping to hear from Kingsley." She admitted.

"I want you both to promise me you won't make any plans to meet up with Black unless I'm with you." He said sternly. "He's been in Azkaban for a long time."

Harry quickly gave him his promise. Phoenix looked a little torn but she agreed not to make _anymore_ plans to meet up with him. Harry gave her a look but she ignored him. Instead she walked quickly over to the door and led the way down towards the Great Hall. Harry ran the few steps he need to catch up with her and together the two walked down in silence. "Are you going to see him?"

"I'm not _making_ any plans to meet him." She said emphatically.

Harry sighed. "So you have made the plans already."

Phoenix's eyes flicked over at him in irritation. "So what if I have. He's my dad. I can go met up with him if I want to."

Harry nodded and gave her one last pleading look. "Just be careful alright. Uncle Moony had a point about him being in Azkaban so long."

Phoenix stopped and glared at him defiantly. "I've been alone with him for hours this year and he's done nothing to make me think I've been in any danger from him, not once."

"He was a dog at the time." Harry whispered, trying to avoid having their conversation overheard by everyone around them on their way to breakfast. Phoenix shrugged and waited for Harry to back off. It didn't take long, Harry wasn't known for his patience. "Just don't meet up with him alone then, please."

She snorted. "Who do you want me to bring with me, another first year, Dennis maybe, how about Luna?"

Harry growled at her. "I meant me or Uncle Moony actually."

Phoenix stepped back away from him. "Harry, I'll be fine."

"Merlin I hate it when you are stubborn." He said as he backed off a little knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with her right now. "Can you at least wait until I can confirm Pettigrew is actually alive and not a figment of his imagination?"

Phoenix sighed. "You have two days." She conceded. "I met with him after that, one way or another."

Harry agreed and they entered the dining hall together. Inside was a scene they weren't expecting. Kingsley and Tonks were talking with the Headmaster, Uncle Moony and Professor McGonagall. Both looked at each other with trepidation. This was not a good way to start the day.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I got distracted by the 4 Twilight books. Now that they are done I have some time to write again. The story is going to story looking very different from canon now :)


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